Mailboxes filled with love . . .

By Nanci Turner

 What’s your favorite thing to find in your mailbox? Is it finding a real piece of mail inside….something other than bills, catalogs and advertisements? Maybe, the very best thing you might find would be a card, a card addressed to you. 

 If you know someone here at Peace this just might happen to you. Well wishes, prayers and caring are expressed between members and the larger community every day. A long time ago, perhaps in the early 70’s, the Readers Digest ran an article titled "Say It Now". It encouraged readers to sit down and jot a note to someone who had affected their life in a positive way, and thank them or just say hello or let them know that they are still remembered. It is an easy habit to add to ones life.  But who could ever have imagined a church where this is an everyday occurrence. A church where there would be one member who believes so much in the meaningfulness of sending cards; that they would make it their personal ministry to provide a rack of free cards for others to take and share. 

 Nor could one ever imagine the members of our women’s group sending 2,000 cards in the past year to an ever expanding number of veteran’s homes. One member of Peace Lutheran Church Women (PLCW)  dreamed a dream of sending cheer to our veterans, letting them know that we did indeed remember them and wanted to say, "Thank you". She brought the idea to PLCW, and boy did they run with it. The area that they send cards out to is ever expanding.  Some of the cards are sent in bulk to the Veterans homes, others are hand delivered to homes that happen to be on-the-way of a trip taken by members, and dropped in person to the homes. Stories return to them over and over, telling them how the veterans display the cards in their rooms, visiting from room to room to see the quantities of cards on window sills, shelves and even taped to the walls. In this way the cards bring joy to their rooms for many days. 

 The tired recipients of "Honor Flights" on the way home after a very long day, are treated to mail call, a reminder of how very important it was, when far from home, in the war years,  a letter  from a loved one arrived in time to end a hard day. A letter filled with warmth, love and thoughts of home. 

 Recently a story was shared after church about the happy affect of a cards arrival in one of the local rehab centers. It was an especially down day for one of our members, but when a card arrived at mail time, signed by all the members that were present at the PLCW meeting one Monday afternoon, a smile filled the room of the recipient; and suddenly the day didn’t seem so lonely and bleak. Just a card bringing the good news that they were not forgotten, changed the entire day. What a gift a card can be! 

 Sometimes after a person passes away there is found in their room boxes from over the years filled with the cards received and enjoyed over and over again by the recipient. Well thumbed and faded edges tell the tale of how very much the cards meant; in ways the senders could never have imagined. 

 A big thank you of appreciation goes out to each and every person who takes the time to send love on it’s way, to fill the mailboxes and hearts of  those about to  find a special surprise filling their day.