As I pushed through the door, only one elderly couple was at the counter. "This is great," I thought- "there's not a long line. I'll be out of here in a flash." Boy, was I wrong! It turns out this couple was mailing several boxes all to different places. My hopes were dashed as I realized I would be standing in line after all.
Still, the older gentleman was friendly enough. He greeted me cheerfully and asked how I was doing. Such a sweet hello could only be responded to in like manner. His wife was concentrated solely on watching the postal clerk handle her precious packages.
A line formed quickly as more people came in with items to mail. After all, it was Christmas time. When there were four or five of us behind them, the gentleman turned around and apologized for making us all wait.
"Don't worry about us," I said. "It looks like what you are doing is pretty important." Another lady smiled and said, "That's right. You go right ahead."
The clerk said, "Please bear with me, I will be with you all as soon as I can." And again, most of us assured them it was OK. He weighed the next box and printed the label for it. As he put it back on the counter, it made a small thump. It was then the lady finally spoke up. "Please be careful with those." I looked at the boxes and noticed they had all been marked 'handle with care.'
Her husband said, "Yes there's homemade stuff in there."
It turns out it was jelly and preserves she had made. They were sending all these boxes to relatives (I suppose as Christmas presents). We found out it was muskie dime jelly, plum jelly and apricot preserves.
"I knew what you were doing was important," I said.
"I know your family will be very happy when they open those boxes." Several agreed and talked about how delicious that sounded.
As the conversation in line behind me when on to how making jellies and preserves was almost a lost art, I continued my conversation with the elderly couple. You could hear the pride in his voice and see the love in his eyes as he told me their family always asked for these goodies from her. She told me there would have been pear preserves too, but their pears weren't good enough to do anything with this year.
When the boxes were all labeled, the clerk gave them the total cost for mailing the packages. She laughed and said, "Well we knew it would be on up there." He merely nodded and smiled as he swiped his card.
Their business was done and as they left, they cordially said goodbye to all of us in line behind them. I bought my stamps and left the post office. They were still in the parking lot. Like any true Southern gentleman, he was helping his lady get into the car.
Once more, I wished them "Merry Christmas." I went about the rest of my day with a much lighter heart. Simply being around that much goodness was uplifting. They were such a sweet couple and happy to be able to send a box full of love to those they loved.
I think the joy was contagious. By the time I left, the little post office was full of people waiting to conduct business. Yet, no one in line had complained or said the first ill word. That little couple gave quite a few people quite a bit of joy!
Maybe it was the time of year, maybe it was the manner in which the older couple handled themselves, or maybe it was the quiet and gentle way the postal employee took care of his clients - I'm not sure the reason for it; but it was such a blessing to be in the post office that day!
I keep thinking about that sweet couple. The whole incident has been on my mind since it happened. They put so much effort into what they did for their family members. A lot of time went into the making of those jellies and preserves. But there was also a lot of love and joy in that work. They were indeed giving a rare and unique gift.
Most of us realize God gave us the most unique and rare gift of all. He sent His Son from His home in heaven to our home here on earth. This gift came with great love and sacrifice.
Just think about the time Christ gave us.
- approximately 33 years of time on earth -- away from heaven - born of woman and lived to give us a perfect example to follow.
- about 3 1/2 years in ministry - teaching about God and His kingdom - with multitudes thronging Him for what He could do for them -- and the scribes and Pharisees criticizing Him for every move He made.
- 6 to 8 hours of tortuous trials -- shuttled from the Garden to the home of Caiaphas - to the high priest - Pilate - to Herod and back to Pilate. Let's not forget the mocking, slapping, spitting and scourging.
- another agonizing 6 hours of excruciating pain on the cross - where God turned His back on His only son while He took on the sins of the world -- until He gave up the ghost and died.
- 3 days in the grave until His triumphant resurrection
- And finally 40 more days giving final instructions to His apostles before His ascension into heaven to reign on the right hand of God.
Think of the love put into everything Christ our Savior did while He was here. The compassion He had for the sick - the blind, those who were hungry and those who were weary with life. We cannot comprehend the love Jesus has for us. Oh how it pricks our hearts and gives us great joy all at the same time!
Now I know those jars the elderly couple sent from the post office cannot compare to the sacrifice Christ gave us. Nothing any of us could ever do would compare with the precious gift of His life, death and resurrection. But maybe a simple comparison such as this can help us understand that Christ wants us to live a life of love - a life of giving.
The gentleman and his sweet wife did not mind the cost of sending those packages. It gave them great joy. Christ willingly paid the cost for our sins on the cross. And He did it with great joy.
"looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2)
If our Savior was willing to die for us, shouldn't we be willing to live for Him?
Christ above all things,
Robin Whitley
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