Post Office Friends

Today, I tried to buy some postage stamps.  I went up to the window where I always go to pick up packages that don’t fit in our post office box.  There were two customers at the counter and no postal worker in sight.  I stood behind one customer thinking I would stand in line.  To be polite and give personal space, I stood back a little.  In time, a worker appeared with what customer #1 (C1) needed and went on to help another customer (C4) who had walked up to the counter ahead of C2 and me (C3).  Hmmm…did he not notice the rest of us?  Or is there some unwritten way of doing things that I don’t know about?

Another customer (C5) came in and got service along with C2 who had edged over, but I still stood in “line”.  I could see that I could be standing there until closing if I kept up my behavior, so I decided to step up to the counter in hopes of getting service.  Yet another person, C6 got his stamps and left, all while I stood almost directly in front of the postal worker. 

So, with money visibly in hand, just before he was finished with C7, I held up my postcard and asked “how much to send a post card to America?”  Finally, I got an answer, paid for my stamps and took what I paid for.  Next, I stretched my luck and asked for “Air Mail” stickers.  He had none, so directed me to the second clerk who had just appeared from the back.  I was greeted by a familiar warm smile and was given ample air mail stickers.

Now, you need to know who gave me this “familiar warm smile”.  Rewind with me to just after New Year’s Day.  We had been receiving quite a few packages with Christmas and all, so visited the parcel pickup window often.  The same man and woman were always at the window as today when I bought stamps, but the woman always looked a bit grumpy as she plopped our packages on the counter and demanded a signature.  I wanted to break past the grumpy demeanor of this woman, but didn’t know how to, beyond sweetly smiling and eagerly submitting to her requests.  But, after the new year, I had something to talk about!  So, after greeting her in Chichewa and answering the usual greeting questions (How did you wake up?  How are the children? How is the baby?), I continued in English with “Happy New Year!”  Her face melted into a joyful smile and she said it was good, then asked how mine was.  I asked “Did you sing and dance all night until the sun came up?” to which she beamed “Yes!”…ever since that little personal interaction, she is no longer grumpy with me.  

This story really could have happened anywhere, right?  Are there any grumpy people you encounter on a routine basis?  How can you spring some light into their lives?  It’s not giving them a tract explaining sin and salvation…it’s not inviting them to a Bible study…it’s not trying to get them into a church building…it’s just being the Light of Christ without any labels or pressure.  

But wait, how can you be the “Light of Christ” without talking about Christ?  It all goes back to that nifty quote usually attributed to Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel, if necessary, use words.”  Who knows?  Maybe someday they’ll ask you about it.  Maybe not.  If the opportunity does surface to tell them about Jesus, they’ll be more likely to listen to you.  But in the mean time, you can serve as a reflection of Christ’s Light in their lives.