Can I Get There From Here?
Back in my younger days I was a mailman. I was one of those guys that walked around in a uniform with a mail pouch slung over my shoulder fingering through letters and packages and newspapers and magazines and stuffing them into mailboxes. Usually I got them in the right one. Mostly.
Back in those days I kept an eye on the weather so I could be prepared for rain or sleet or snow (or heat or gloom of night). And also I kept a wary eye on traffic that could be dangerous from garbage trucks and lost semis to quiet bicycles or noisy plastic wheeled tricycles. And then there were those loose dogs that might be territorial. Sometimes they bit me but usually they were friendly.
Back then I wasn’t 30 yet and one gruff looking old guy that was always smoking a big ‘ol smelly cigar would greet me with, “How ya doin’ young feller? Is that ornery postmaster giving you any grief?”
“Well not too much,” I’d say, “But the day is young.” And he’d grin as he thumbed through the mail I handed him.
As I walked and got the mail ready for the next mailbox I would have time to think a bit and ponder. I pondered about all sorts of nonsensical things. Sometimes I was working on an unfamiliar route or helping someone on their route so I would be earlier or later than the regular carrier. People would stop me and ask, “Why are you so early today?” with a big smile. Or they would be testy and frowning, “Why are you so late today?”
I always told them the truth though, that I was filling in and unfamiliar or that I was helping so the regular carrier could finish his route on time. But I thought it would be more fun to say something like, “Oh,sorry we’re on the LTU schedule today.” And only I would know that LTU stood for ‘later than usual’. Or I could’ve said, “I’m doing ETU today.” You know, for ‘earlier than usual’. But I was never brave enough to say that because I thought it was better to just tell the truth.
Walking around in an official uniform and always knowing where I was going I must have looked trustworthy and knowledgeable because I was often approached by someone looking for directions. “Say, excuse me sir,” They’d say as they drove up next to me with their window going down. “Do you know where the such and such street is? Or where that rest home is located around here?”
I would have to shift my thinking from where I was going and try to think of the most direct way to get them to their destination. Sometimes on a Saturday dressed up people would be looking for a church to attend a wedding. After I’d give them directions they’d drive off and I’d go back to my mail delivering and my pondering. Sometimes I’d think maybe my directions weren’t the best way to go, but if I didn’t see them again I figured they found where they were going. They were always very relieved when I gave them my directions.
But something in me would think maybe I should be more entertaining and say something like, “Oh, that church? Well you can’t really get there from here.” Or something else silly like that. Of course I never did but I often wondered what would have happened if I did? And then if I did, I’d think, I’d have a good story to tell my fellow mail carriers back in the break room.
I was always happy to help, even if I wasn’t very entertaining while I did so. Looking back now I realize that there are times to be entertaining and there are times to simply and directly tell the truth. And it’s not always good to mix them together.
In our world today times are tense and stressful. People are looking for trustworthy truth tellers and not just an entertaining story. A little humor can sometimes relieve tension and help people to relax but only if it is kept separate and easily distinguishable from the actual truth.
There was a time a harried looking older couple stopped me on my route and asked me how to quickly get to the hospital. “Our son was in an accident, you see…” They told me. It was a time for me to be truthful and give them simple and straight forward directions. Then I said, “I hope your son will be okay.” Although I should have also said, “I’ll be praying for him.”
And one morning when there was no school a young boy was dutifully waiting all alone for the school bus when I walked by. “Are you waiting on the bus?” I asked.
“Yes, but none of the other kids are here today.” He said looking bewildered.
“I don’t think there is school today. Maybe you should go back home.”
“But my Mom said it’s a school day!” He said as tears begin to well up in his eyes.
“Is she home?” I asked. And he nodded.
“Well let’s go ask her,” I said. We walked about a block to the house and he held my hand. Just as we got to the steps the front door flew open.”
“Oh! I just found out there’s no school today!” She said as she hugged her little boy. “I’m so glad you came home.”
“The mailman told me I should go home, Mom. And he took care of me.”
“Oh, thank you so much for delivering him back to me.” The Mom said with a relieved smile.
“You’re welcome.” I nodded, “Glad he’s okay. Now back to the route.” I turned around and started delivering mail again.
In these days where words like disinformation or misinformation are very much in vogue, I’m thankful that there is a place to go for simple and straightforward directions for us as we go through life. Something that gives us the best way to go and is trustworthy and tells us the truth about ourselves and the world we’re in.
Of course, nowadays many people discount it and say it’s archaic and not worth looking at. They malign it and they belittle it. Or they ignore it and discount it. But they do so at their own peril. You see it was important enough to be treasured and preserved for thousands of years. Many have died horrible deaths because they wanted to share it with others or to have it in their own language. And I believe it is the only place where we can find truth, hope and direction for us today.
It’s the Word of God, or the Bible. The best thing to do with it is to study it and read it in the way it was written, literally, and in context. It will show you not only the best way to go but what is the truth and where to find life. God’s Word will never let you down or send you the wrong way.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 14.6
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3.16-17
By this gospel you are saved,
1 Corinthians 15.2a
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
1 Corinthians 15.3-4
that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.
John 3.15