Yeah that was me yesterday, Tim-Tam's coming from Amazon. I couldn't wait to surprise Jake.
So when I heard that metal door swing yesterday on top of my mailbox, I creepily ran to the door, and waited for my mail carrier to get off my porch (because NO ONE wants to seem desperate to get mail RIGHT?). After a safe distance had been made by my mail lady I went outside to grab my package, and as I did so I was startled by a voice yelling "GIVE ME MY MAIL!!"
The mail lady was in the middle of our street walking backward from my neighbor, who was coming at her with his hand outstretched.
"I would like my mail PLEASE!" He demanded.
Guys, I was gone for three days over Thanksgiving Holiday last year, and when I returned, I had a note in my mailbox saying, "Please go to the post office to retrieve your mail."
So I did.
I only had three pieces of mail.
I asked the man at the office why this may have happened. He said " If your mail carrier sees you are not picking up your mail, and they have reasonable belief you are not living there, they don't have to deliver your mail to your address."
Seriously? Over Thanksgiving. Needless to say. I pick up my mail every day now.
So, knowing our mail carrier can be somewhat unreasonable sometimes, I was intrigued with this confrontation on my street, so I continued to listen.
"NO!" said the mail lady. "You can go pick it up at the post office tomorrow when I drop it off there."
"But it is in your hands!! Just give it to me now and get on with it! There is no reason for me to go to the post office!"
She continued to retreat, until she was on another neighbor's porch, he followed her and she yelled back.
"You need to get control of your 70 pound dog! I walked up to give you your mail and the glass door was open and your dog almost pushed through it and attached me! Until you can learn to protect me as your mail carrier, you can pick up your mail at the post office from now on!"
"He would never hurt a fly! Just give me my mail and I will keep my door closed."
"Nope, you need to learn a lesson. Pick up the mail at the post office."
By this time my curiosity had been quenched, so I went back inside. Ten minutes later, they were still arguing, with some of the neighbors popping out of their doors to see what the fuss was about. Finally, the mail carrier stomped off in a rage with the rest of the neighborhood's mail. I couldn't help but think " I'm glad my door is before his!!"
As I opened my scriptures last night I started thinking about my Savoir and how he tries to communicate with me. The mailman experience from that day was still fresh in my mind, and I saw some similarities between it and the holy ghost.
Having the spirit is like getting mail. Most days, you just pick up the mail as routine with no thought or recognition of how it got there or who brought it. It is just there. The ONLY time I actually think about the mailman coming is when I ordered something, and I am waiting with anticipation for it to come in the mail. Sometimes though, if it is quiet and I happen to be at the right place in my house, I can hear the my mail door rise and fall, and I know the post carrier has come.
Now, you DEFINITELY notice when the mail DOESN'T come, especially if you have placed and order and are waiting for it to come in the mail. And then we get that postcard. "Your mail is available for pickup at the post office."
We only get this when we did something to lose the privilege of the mail carrier. Like if we blocked their parking spot on the street, or if our dog posed a threat to them. Both valid reasons for mail not being delivered.
This is exactly how the spirit works! Most days, I don't even notice I have the spirit with me throughout the day. It is just there. Sometimes I am in the "right place", and I am waiting for it so I do notice when it comes. But most of the time it is just there, silently benefiting me without my recognition. I feel like a lot of saints have expressed that since they don't FEEL the spirit all of the time, he isn't there. Is you mail still in the processed of being delivered even when you don't recognize it? Yes! Although with the spirit, it comes with just a few more conditions, we must be living righteously to receive this privilege. Just because you don't FEEL the spirit EVERY moment every day does NOT mean he isn't there! And in those moments when you hear him, you know that you are worthy of the privilege of having him deliver your spiritual mail! And if you pay close attention, the divine postman comes every day as long as we are worthy, and just like the normal postman, we need to be listening for him to recognize that he actually is there! By listening, we can learn when to expect that spiritual mail, and by doing so, FEEL his presence more, because he was always there.Now, if we do something to offend the spirit by bringing in spiritual trashcans and bloodhounds to scare our postman away, he will leave. But he will NEVER leave without leaving us a postcard saying. " Your mail is available at the post office." The Divine Postman ALWAYS points us towards his Master Jesus Christ. Our spiritual mail is always available, and just because we choose to not pick it up does not mean it is still not being sent!!!
Some people when they that postcard go straight to the Post Master and figure out what they did wrong, tell him they will try better, and then he gives them their mail immediately, and they are reinstated the privilege of the post man. But other people who have been caught in sin for SO long, feel like they have lost out of years of spiritual mail, and they will never get it back. They assume it is to late, their mail was thrown out years ago, the postman has declared their address vacant. They do not want to go to the Post Master because they assume they have been forgotten since the mail has stopped coming. On the contrary. The mail is still there. ALL OF IT! Every single piece! Our Savior, The Divine Postmaster NEVER declares us spiritually vacant. He never throws out your spiritual mail, he holds onto it for years and years just hoping you will come pick it up. He wants to give it to us, we just can't get it through the messenger, we need to go straight to the source to be cleansed and purified. And if we will let go of our hurt, get out of the corner of our abandoned house, and just listen, he is at our door, knocking, wondering if we will just open the door and let him talk to us. " Will you allow me to bring you mail personally? "Will you LET me take this sin for you? Because I love you, and I won't stop knocking. Even if you choose foreclose upon your soul. I will not.""But what about all of my unpaid bills over the years? I have lost everything, and the collectors will come to find me." Christ, in his mercy, has paid all of your bills while you chose not to collect your mail. If you have waited years to approach the Divine Postmaster, and you come to him and repent, the only thing you potentially lost out on were the words and letter of encouragement that could have comforted you during that dark time, But you receive all the blessings, all the letters, FLOWING back in moment that you repent. Then he sends his spirit, the divine post man, to remind you he is there every day, and that if you ever want to talk with the Post master directly, all you need do is go to his office.
I know that Jesus Christ is the Savoir of all mankind. I know he never gives up on any of us, even when we declare ourselves spiritually bankrupt and believe our soul's repentance expiration date has past. The Holy Ghost is his postman, giving us daily strength and letters of love from our Redeemer. He is always there if we are righteous, even if we cannot always feel him. For The Divine Postmaster has said "I will not leave you comfortless"
