A Tale of Two Mailboxes

It's Friday and snow is falling light and sweet and covering everything again.

I finally let my inner Valentine's excitement come out and only required Math and Language before ushering in all of the construction paper and heart doilies.

Glitter glue was over everything and it was lovely.

I can enjoy hearts on walls and windows again and little makes me happier than watching my Sweetheart hang hearts from the ceiling.

I even clapped my hands together when he hung the last just before lunch.

Call it a Hallmark holiday and I'll call it wonderful.

Say it's a poor excuse to guilt people into flowers and I'll say that hugs are cheap and easy.

Tell me that you don't have someone to love and I'll bring you to church with me.

And mention that you don't really feel loved or even lovable and I'll set you a chair and some mint tea and tell you all about my Father who gives the best gifts in love to everyone who holds their hands and hearts open.

And I'll even share my stash of heart-shaped chocolates with you.

I'm nice like that.

We made a mess of memories today and even made pepperoni rolls until we ran plum out of pepperoni and just stuffed cheese into blobs of freezer thawed dough.

I should do this more often.

I sat to enjoy a stack of Valentine's cards that needed a poem in each, because why not send a poem to each friend this year?

This one is loyal and this one is loving and one has me always in stitches,

one is a giver, a great burden lifter,

who's encouragement never once misses the mark of my heart.

What can I say, I love a good rhyme.

And before I could reach this happy pile,

needing the warmth of a bit of a smile,

okay that's it I promise.

My son walked through the door with the mail and a large, wonderful, unexpected package.

I LOVE mail.

I love it almost as much as I love Valentine's Day.

And that's saying a lot.

I love seeing my name scribbled on the front, the variety of stamps, and the different color envelopes.

I LOVE MAIL.

I think this is why I love sending it so much.

This brings me to the point today.

One of mine was bemoaning the fact that her penpal hadn't written for a while.

"A while" being quantified as three days or so.

I laughed because I understood where she was coming from.

About two years ago now I was in a needy place. Affirmation makes my heart sing, and I was sending out love expecting love in return, an heaps of it.

It wasn't until the Lord reminded me of HIS goodness, undeserved that I found the right balance in giving again.

The Lord reminded me that all that I have comes from a gracious hand, and in that hand alone is satisfaction found.

Psalm 107:9- For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

My affirmation is satisfied in His goodness.

I think this is where some are today. Good, godly, well-meaning folks.

I can see where the whole idea of Valentine's Day can turn up a nose if they are looking to a new Instant Pot for satisfaction.

It may satiate your belly for an evening, but it won't touch a needy soul.

I'm still learning that there's no box of chocolates as sweet as sitting still and knowing that the Lord loves me and thinks about me.

Jeremiah 31:3- "The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."

Psalm 139:17- "How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!"

And He must love prose as much as I do, because he even has a song just for me.

Zephaniah 3:17- T"he LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing."

I explained to my daughter that her job is to sow love- lots and lots of it and trust the Lord with what we reap and how soon we reap.

I reminded her of Galatians 6:7 and 9 - "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

We have been given so very much in this life that we can share with those around us.

Matthew 10:8- "....freely ye have received, freely give."

And I had to learn just like she did, that there is honestly more joy in the giving.

More joy in what's going in the mailbox than what's coming back inside from it.

So very much joy that you honestly forget how many trips to the mailbox you have made in a day, a week, a month and even in a year's worth of giving.

And this week has just broken my heart wide-open again to this law, God's law of sowing and reaping reminding me that when we send one card in the name of the Lord to lift a wounded or weary heart, we are actually sending it to His doorstep.

And He is no man's debtor.

I hadn't even yet returned from the post office on Monday afternoon when blessing was already waiting for me at home.

I was sending out love and days earlier love was already on it's way to me.

Today was no exception.

I opened my envelope to a beautiful scarf with my very own initial on it in royal blue.

It felt like a wonderful warm hug from a friend.

I prepared to send some love and love was already beating me to it.

Because the wonderful thing is that we always reap much more than we sow.

That corn, that expectation of affirmation, has to die in the ground but when it breaks and decides to just be planted for a purpose, how great is the fruit that comes from a single kernel, a single-minded heart.

Multiple blessings on a tall stalk in exchange for one forgotten offering.

Love always returns in ways we cannot even imagine,

And the Lord has a full mailbag out for delivery.