I look forward to a certain time each day. Some days it's early, some days it's late. This certain time of day comes during rain, sleet, snow, and hail. This certain time of day does not show up on Sundays or holidays. Can you guess what certain time of day it is? It's mail time! Sometimes I wish I had Mailbox from Blue's Clues so that he could announce my mail delivery with some pomp and circumstance.
Christmas season is an awesome mail getting time! I love going to the mailbox and finding it stuffed with Christmas cards. But, the rest of the year can be kind of sad when nothing pours in except bills, junk mail, bills, advertisements, and more bills. Sometimes "occupant" gets more mail than I do. Of course, there is the occasional magazine subscription once a month that is a happy surprise when you open the mailbox.
Today at church, a friend of mine (Emily) reminded me of a ministry we had at a different church we both attended in Collinsville about 10 years ago. Emily told me that she was recently going through a box and inside she found a "care card" from me that I had sent to her when she was getting ready to leave for basic training. Along with mine were several other cards that she had kept all these years. A "care card" was just a plain postcard stuck in the pouch of the church chairs that you could just take and write a word of encouragement, a happy thought, or to let someone know that you were praying for them. You could drop them in a certain spot and the church would put on the postage and mail them out to the recepients. Every once in a while you had a nice surprise waiting for you in your mailbox. I remember getting "care cards" from people praying for Harry and I when we were trying to have a baby, cards just to say hi and thanks for being a friend, and cards with nothing on it but a verse from the Bible.
With e-mail, facebook, twitter and texting, sending "snail mail" has almost gone to the wayside. People don't even pay their bills through the mail anymore. Everything is paid through the computer. People complain about the continuing rise of the cost of stamps as a reason they don't write or send cards anymore. Really, your family and friends aren't worth 46 cents? Even less if you send a postcard!
As I have contemplated Emily's words from this morning, I am going to make a new goal for myself and try to send my friends a little bit of "happiness" to their mailboxes a couple of times each month. Who doesn't like to find a nice surprise waiting for them to brighten their day? Even my four year old asks me almost everyday, "Did I get any mail, mommy?". So be on the lookout! If I have your mailing address you may find a nice little surprise in your mailbox someday soon.
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