As executor of my mother's estate it fell on me to inventory her assets and divide them as stipulated in the will. Inside a wooden box that held personal belongings, I discovered a sealed envelope that contained a letter. On the outside it was addressed in my mother's handwriting: "To God".
My mother was a religious person so the letter may have contained a prayer, a confession, a petition, or something else. Whatever was inside, I assume, was very personal. Could the letter reveal a side of my mother that would endear her to me even more or did it contain some long held secret I wouldn't want, or need, to know?
The envelope has stayed tucked away in my desk for the past three months. Should I open it or should I not. I've been curious as to what might be inside and on several occasions contemplated opening it, but it wasn't addressed to me, I'm not God.
Today, while burning brush in the pasture, I took the letter from my desk, thought one last time about opening it, then placed it into the fire. As it burned, the ashes lifted silently heavenward into the morning sky and disappeared out of sight.
My duty as executor of the estate is finished. The final task was to deliver a letter to whom it was addressed. The content of that letter is now, and will forever be, between my mother and God.
My quandary is over.
My mother was a religious person so the letter may have contained a prayer, a confession, a petition, or something else. Whatever was inside, I assume, was very personal. Could the letter reveal a side of my mother that would endear her to me even more or did it contain some long held secret I wouldn't want, or need, to know?
The envelope has stayed tucked away in my desk for the past three months. Should I open it or should I not. I've been curious as to what might be inside and on several occasions contemplated opening it, but it wasn't addressed to me, I'm not God.
Today, while burning brush in the pasture, I took the letter from my desk, thought one last time about opening it, then placed it into the fire. As it burned, the ashes lifted silently heavenward into the morning sky and disappeared out of sight.
My duty as executor of the estate is finished. The final task was to deliver a letter to whom it was addressed. The content of that letter is now, and will forever be, between my mother and God.
My quandary is over.
