麻豆社

A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Mariama Ifode-Blease.

Good morning.

I鈥檝e had a love affair with the post office for as long as I can remember. Family and friends know for example, that I鈥檝e always chosen where to live, based on its distance from the nearest post office.

It鈥檚 hard to pin down when the post office became so important to me. Perhaps it鈥檚 because I鈥檝e been blessed by friends, who lived overseas, since I was a teenager. Perhaps it鈥檚 because I鈥檝e had great epistolary friendships, choosing the pen over the keyboard.

So, the building came to symbolise connection, and friendship, and happy memories. Through postcards, letters, birthday and Christmas cards, I鈥檝e felt the post office, as central to my wellbeing. There鈥檚 something about getting a letter in the post, that still feels different to an email.

Last month, I received a lovely card and letter, from the parents of a wedding couple, I had recently married. It was from the groom鈥檚 parents, thanking me for the wedding, and saying some very kind things. It was so unexpected and so generous, that I was overwhelmed with emotion. This was not the usual letter from a charity, or the usual bill. I didn鈥檛 expect the note, as I was simply doing my job as a priest, but it was so special to read their words. It reminded me, that thanking people, has such an impact. A sincere thank you, with specifics, to someone who would not have expected it, can transform their day. I wonder who you could thank in this way today?

So, today, I pray for a thankful heart, and for the opportunity, to be able to thank someone deeply.

Amen.