A Simple Bottle of Water

When I started this blog, I really didn't see our mail carrier making regular appearances on it.

That's cool though. I can roll with it!

Many of you will recall that we initially met our mail carrier during a tornado scare just after the babies came home. (I've had a lot of people tell me that is one of the most memorable posts I've ever written!)! We haven't talked to him much since then, but we did let him know that he can always come hide out in our basement with us during severe weather.

Last summer, I also tried to keep an eye out and hand him a bottle of water when he came by on his rounds. Since the babies and I were literally living in our living room, it wasn't too hard to catch him.

This summer, it's been a little different. With the babies walking (and climbing!) everywhere, I'm constantly on the move and often times don't see him come by. Unfortunately, we have also been enduring record breaking temperatures for the past few weeks with severe drought conditions that are affecting every one and everything. We've even hit 108 degrees a few times! Ouch! And I haven't been able to catch him to hand him some water.

Then last week, I had an idea.

I started putting out a small cooler next to our mailbox with an ice pack and cold bottle of water in it. I stuck a post-it note inside the mailbox door, so when our mail carrier opened it, he would know that the cooler was there for him.

Now I don't need to watch for him, and he still gets water on these horribly hot days.

This morning, I almost missed him!

We had our therapy session today, and I was distracted with that. I glanced up for a second, saw him coming around, and grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator so that I could hand it to him when he handed me our mail.

He thanked me for his daily water bottle and then told me some really sad news.

Yesterday, one of the mail carriers in Independence (about 20 minutes from our house) was found lying in a yard. That carrier had asked management if he could go home early because he wasn't feeling well and instead they sent him out with an additional 2 hours of overtime. He never returned. When he was found unconscious in a yard, they took him to a hospital where he passed away at the age of 57.

They think the extreme heat played a large part in his death.

After telling me that, our mail carrier said he appreciated it when people on his route looked out for his well being. Especially since he parks his truck and walks our neighborhood on foot. He isn't sitting in air conditioning or has easy access to water mid-route.

It's hard for me to go and participate in community activities or volunteer to help with organizations, although I wish I could! But a cold bottle of water is perhaps a bigger witness to our mail carrier than a Bible track would ever be. He sees what we get in the mail on a daily basis. Our bills, magazines, free samples, and newsletters from Christian organizations. He also sees the the large cross on our front door that says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Next summer, my kids will be taking the bottle of water and putting it out for him. We are told to be a witness wherever we are. So my kids and I are being a witness at the end of our front porch with a bottle of water.

Hopefully someday, when the drought is over, and heat cools off, he replaces our measly little bit of water  with something more lasting. The Living Water will last him a lot longer than anything we can fit in our cooler.

Maybe your mail carrier would appreciate a bottle of water too.

When I started this blog, I really didn't see our mail carrier making regular appearances on it.

That's cool though. I can roll with it!

Many of you will recall that we initially met our mail carrier during a tornado scare just after the babies came home. (I've had a lot of people tell me that is one of the most memorable posts I've ever written!)! We haven't talked to him much since then, but we did let him know that he can always come hide out in our basement with us during severe weather.

Last summer, I also tried to keep an eye out and hand him a bottle of water when he came by on his rounds. Since the babies and I were literally living in our living room, it wasn't too hard to catch him.

This summer, it's been a little different. With the babies walking (and climbing!) everywhere, I'm constantly on the move and often times don't see him come by. Unfortunately, we have also been enduring record breaking temperatures for the past few weeks with severe drought conditions that are affecting every one and everything. We've even hit 108 degrees a few times! Ouch! And I haven't been able to catch him to hand him some water.

Then last week, I had an idea.

I started putting out a small cooler next to our mailbox with an ice pack and cold bottle of water in it. I stuck a post-it note inside the mailbox door, so when our mail carrier opened it, he would know that the cooler was there for him.

Now I don't need to watch for him, and he still gets water on these horribly hot days.

This morning, I almost missed him!

We had our therapy session today, and I was distracted with that. I glanced up for a second, saw him coming around, and grabbed a bottle of water out of the refrigerator so that I could hand it to him when he handed me our mail.

He thanked me for his daily water bottle and then told me some really sad news.

Yesterday, one of the mail carriers in Independence (about 20 minutes from our house) was found lying in a yard. That carrier had asked management if he could go home early because he wasn't feeling well and instead they sent him out with an additional 2 hours of overtime. He never returned. When he was found unconscious in a yard, they took him to a hospital where he passed away at the age of 57.

They think the extreme heat played a large part in his death.

After telling me that, our mail carrier said he appreciated it when people on his route looked out for his well being. Especially since he parks his truck and walks our neighborhood on foot. He isn't sitting in air conditioning or has easy access to water mid-route.

It's hard for me to go and participate in community activities or volunteer to help with organizations, although I wish I could! But a cold bottle of water is perhaps a bigger witness to our mail carrier than a Bible track would ever be. He sees what we get in the mail on a daily basis. Our bills, magazines, free samples, and newsletters from Christian organizations. He also sees the the large cross on our front door that says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Next summer, my kids will be taking the bottle of water and putting it out for him. We are told to be a witness wherever we are. So my kids and I are being a witness at the end of our front porch with a bottle of water.

Hopefully someday, when the drought is over, and heat cools off, he replaces our measly little bit of water  with something more lasting. The Living Water will last him a lot longer than anything we can fit in our cooler.

Maybe your mail carrier would appreciate a bottle of water too.