Write a friend, help the US Postal Service
Mail mail mail... its a thing I love to see at the end of each day out here in Montana. Waking up at 6:30 am, reading scriptures and studying, and heading out the door by 10 am to teach the Gospel until 9 pm makes for a long day. There's a lot that runs through your mind as you give your all to help people find their faith in Jesus Christ. To ease the stress, there's nothing like opening up a letter from a family member or friend encouraging you in the work and showing interest in what your doing. Those letters do mean a lot to me, especially since you can hold them in your hand and read the personal handwritten messages over and over again. While email's are great and I send one every week to my family back home, nothing can beat that of a letter received in the mail.
Now lately, there's been a lot of talk floating around the country about the United States Postal Service being forced to shut down post offices and sorting centers, cutting jobs and reducing services due to financial difficulties. These financial woes has plagued the USPS for years and its effects are felt everywhere. I don't know how far these ramifications will reach over the next couple years but I don't want to even imagine life without the mailman! That's totally tradition, we can't have that go away. Although, while talking with an old timer here in Helena as I was mailing off some Christmas packages, he related it to the milkman. "Look at him", he said, "he went away too". Whether they go away or not, we shall see, but I think we can do our part to help keep them around a little longer and help a friend out in the process.
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| While in Glasgow, MT, our mailbox got frozen shut and we had to use a hairdryer to thaw the ice! |
The cost of the stamp today is 44¢ and is due to raise 1¢ this upcoming January, bringing it to 45¢ per stamp. Back when I was born in 1991 the stamp was at a cost of 29¢. Although sending off about 115 Christmas cards this year sure added up fast in postage, I believe the cost of one stamp is still within affordable reach!
Think about it. What if everyone in the United States went out and bought a postage stamp? The July 2009 U.S. Census reported that the population of the United States was 307,006,550. Since all we are doing is working with numbers, let's say everyone was able to buy a stamp. That's $135,082,882 that the USPS just made. Now, I don't know what percentage would turn to profit but that's bound to help them in some way. And your not just accomplishing that but your more importantly writing a letter that could mean lots to a family member or close friend!
Pick up the Holy Bible and turn to the New Testament. Where do most of the books after the four Gospels come from? Letters written by Paul the Apostle. Just think of all the wisdom, light, and truth that Paul was able to share with his fellow Christians? Now two thousand years later, his letters just haven't touched those people in Corinth, Thessalonia, or Rome - they have spread throughout the whole earth. Paul gives to us a good example of just how powerful and meaningful a letter can be.
So search your pockets, your couches, your cars, the rain gutters and break open those piggy banks. Your bound to be able to come up with two quarters or some way to make out 44¢ or 45¢ for a stamp. Its a gift that can last through generations of time and bring happiness to anyone this Holiday season.
Have a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and get out that pen and paper and start writin'!
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