REMEMBER SNAIL MAIL?
I hope your coffee this morning is full and hot because we are going back to a time that may bring some discomfort as I discuss “snail mail”! Yep, we are going ole school and I hope our younger participants will hang in there with us as we remember the ‘pain’ of receiving or delivering mail at a time when there was no other way to communicate.
Let’s define what we are speaking of because the language is so old you may have forgotten what it means:
“The phrase ‘Snail Mail’ (or ‘Smail’) refers to mail that was carried by the traditional postal delivery service.”
Can you imagine trying to send a group text using pen, paper, and the post office? Imagine writing out letters by hand to your five closest friends, buying stamps, stuffing envelopes, and mailing them to five different addresses. Whew! I’m exhausted just thinking about it. It seems silly since you can accomplish the same thing in a few seconds using your smartphone.
Yep, let that settle in, and most of you are already screaming, NO THANKS, please let us not go back there, it was so painful, so frustrating, so unknown.
IF YOU THINK YOU HAD YOUR TROUBLES WITH SNAIL MAIL, AS A DEPLOYED WARRIOR DURING DESERT SHIELD, DESERT STORM, I WILL MATCH YOUR FRUSTRATION!!
We never knew when the letters we would send home would make it! You think about that for a moment? There were times when our loved ones would receive a stack of mail, over two months old, and pile through the letters trying to catch up from their deployed loved ones. On the other end, when “mail call” came, every Chaplain worth their salt was present for many different reasons: every one stopped by to check if they received any mail; for those who received packages folks would often share and for a few minutes it created a joyful time, and lastly, too many times we were present keeping our eyes on those reading the very late letter…did it include news that their spouse was filing for divorce, or did a dear family member die several weeks ago, or month ago, and they are just now finding out? Painful and unfortunate indeed!
I indeed give our HEAVENLY FATHER THANKS for the ability to text today, to face time, to connect within a few minutes or seconds, PRAISE JESUS! I am especially grateful for our nations warriors now deployed through out our world who do not have to experience what others and I went through! And this is changing, I hear about a future where at the tap of your temple one will be able to talk with and visualize a loved one instantly, amazing!
QUESTION: What type of mail does our Heavenly Father utilize in reaching us?
Christian History: Before Jesus gave us access to the Holy Spirit, Jesus was the single source of information, and He was limited to physically being in one place at a time. He had to spread His message one crowd at a time.
But, when the Holy Spirit made His home in the heart of every believer, Jesus’ message was engraved into our hearts.
Even without cell towers or smartphones, the Holy Spirit can speak directly into our hearts and minds.
Ponder: How are you doing in hearing HIS voice today? Does your day start with a heart and mind open to HIM? Thank Jesus HE does not use ‘SNAIL MAIL”! HE is available and ready to hear you and to speak with you by the power of Holy Spirit!
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that He will receive what He will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what He will make known to you.”
John 16:12-15 NIV.
