trip to the post office

what i love about my job is the freedom that it offers. yes i work in a typical office, but most of the time i'm out running from place to place delivering, picking up, buying, all sorts of things that the lawyers say they need done. if/when i am in the office, i sit in the small library either catching up on homework or some reading, until someone lets me know they need me to run an errand. even then, if an errand doesn't have to be run by a certain time, i wait until i have about 5 places to go, so i can do them all at once while i'm out.

this morning i sat doing homework from 9am-11am. at 11:00 i took off for the bank, another law firm, the court house, the treasury, and finally the post office.

when i got to the post office around 11:45, i pulled up behind a car with a "thank you Jesus" sticker on it. as i walked by, because of the dork i am i mumbled a big "rock on" to myself, then contined to make my way to the end of the line inside. soon after i got in line walked in a man and a woman about 80 years old. right away my eyes were drawn to this couple, yet i didn't know why. the man joined in the line behind me, but continued to wonder around the post office as if he was looking for something. i was confused. he then tapped me on the shoulder, asking me if i was in line. i turned, smiled, and said yes.

after my response, he lifted up his hand, patted me against my bank and said, "does that cross you have around your neck have any significance?"

a blessed conversation began...

i stood and listened to loren explain to me the ministry, "thank you Jesus cross ministries", him and his wife had started a number of years back. he spoke of how being a retired carpenter was hard because he spends a lot of money buying lumber for the crosses and plaques that he makes for their ministry. "we are trying to rent out an apartment we have in order to raise some more money... the Lord will bless us though." he continued on with telling me about his youngest daughter who just got back from tahiti where she was there for 4 months doing mission work; "she wants to be a missionary."

as i listened, i became unconscious of the world around me. i couldn't get past how excited and passionate this wrinkly 6'5" man was about Jesus, life, and his ministry.

it was encouraging. the exact encouragement i needed.

he waited til it was my turn in line and then proceeded to leave the line with me, abandoning his turn. he walked with me outside. "i want to give you one of the crosses i made and i want you to meet my wife." as loren opened his trunk, it was full of wooden crosses that he had made from scratch... understand this... i'm not usually a fan of "Jesus" wooden plaques and trinkets, but there was something special about this one. i then met jeanne, loren's wife. she took the cross, writing my name and the date on it. i couldn't stop smiling... what a blessed trip to the post office.

loren continued on speaking about the Lord, and all i could do was listen. his passion flowed out. he then stopped, looked at me for maybe 10 seconds without any words, then turned to his wife and said, "honey... can't you just see Jesus shining out from behind this young lady's beautiful eyes... He is alive in her. i can see Him."

what a wonderful encounter.

i don't think loren and jeanne will ever know the encouragement they poured on me this morning. i have their number... maybe i should visit them sometime. old people like that...

best trip to the post office ever.