What's on Your Doormat?

Maybe you wait for the postman to call before you venture out in the mornings.  Or maybe you battle against what he has left in order to open your door in the evening.  Whenever you set eyes on your post, there is usually quite a variety to it.  There are brown envelopes and white, rectangular and square ones, poly-bags with labels and occasionally some that are not 'Post Office Preferred'!  There may be bills, business letters, a generous slice of junk mail, and perhaps something you have ordered on line.  On very rare days, there may even be that special envelope with a stamp and handwritten address - a personal letter!

All of these are communications of some sort.  Perhaps the sender is trying to convince us of the worthiness of his particular 'good cause', to sell something to us, or let us know what is on at the theatre.  Other items tell us what we owe on a credit card, or perhaps it's simply a regular newspaper or magazine to read.  Some we have been waiting for, or find useful; others we could cheerfully do without.

Have you ever considered how the daily postal delivery mirrors God's attempts to communicate with us?  There are several differences, though.  From God there is no junk mail, for a start: everything is relevant, if we take the trouble to see how.  There are no bills: God's gift of salvation is absolutely free - all we have to do is accept it.  And there's no agonising wait for a mail-order delivery, either.  God is ever-present with us, and His grace is always on tap.

But the best of it is, it's all personal.  Each of us lives a life that is our own, specially designed with us in mind.  As I thought about this divine mystery, my mind rested on the words of a hymn by Alfred B. Smith and Eugene Clarke (catch it here).  Sometimes our doormat bears surprises.  We don't know what there is ahead of us, what joys or griefs there might be, or how long we have left to enjoy (or suffer) them.  But we can be sure that, whatever betide us, we can rely on a special blend of comfort, guidance, protection and strength that's tailored just for our needs - God's love.

It's a thought worth remembering next time you pick up your post!