Special Delivery

It is freezing cold outside today.  Actually, freezing would be nice, it's much colder than 32 degrees.  This morning when I got to work it was -12 degrees.  That's really, really cold if you weren't aware of that.

While it is cold today I'm blessed to work in a warm studio where I can drink hot coffee while on the job.  And as I'm writing this I'm sitting with my Wartburg sweatshirt on, sipping a delicious medium roast Kenyan coffee inside a heated coffee shop.  I'm lucky.

Last night I got home from church and sprinted into my warm house from the frigid exterior and took off my coat and shoes and sat under a blanket on my couch.  At that moment I thought about my friend Chris.

My friend Chris is my mailman.  Every day even in rain, sleet or snow he delivers the mail.  I thought about how the men and women of the U.S.P.S. would be out in the dangerously cold temps delivering our mail and even if they only deliver me junk mail and bills most of the time I felt an enormous sense of gratitude for them.  So, I got out from under my warm blanket, wrote on a sticky note and took a treat along with the note and put it in the mailbox.  Would the candy and note warm up my friend Chris?  Nope, but I just felt the need to encourage someone who faithfully serves me nearly every day.

Here's my challenge to you today.  Do something nice for your mail carrier this week.  Leave a letter of thanks, a snack or a package of hand warmers in the mailbox for him or her.  Be creative in doing good to the person who has to trudge through the cold dressed like the abominable snowman to bring you your mail.

Could this small act of kindness change the entire landscape of the world?  Probably not.  But I can tell you, because my dad used to deliver mail, that these little acts of kindness can brighten someone's day.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:9-10

So, do something good for your mail carrier this week.  Heck, do something good for whoever you feel led to do good.  We have the opportunity and since you've read this you also have the idea to do good... so just do it, as Nike would say.

Give a special delivery of encouragement and goodness today.