In December of 2014, I joined a group that took encouragement from the computer screen to your home mail box. It was a way to reach beyond the blog posts and social media. Having never done anything like this among bloggers before, I was excited.
The idea was to send Christmas cards to people in your assigned group. The groups were relatively small, with about six to seven women.
I went out and purchased my cards, and I had the list printed with all of the names and mailing addresses. I was ready to begin, and I looked forward to writing my thoughts and sharing my favorite bible verse in the cards that I was going to mail.
There were deadlines as to when the cards should have been mailed by, and I made sure to have mine prepared and out in the mail promptly.
At the end of the first week, I received my very first snail mail card from this group! I was very excited and made sure to carefully open the envelop and slide the card out to read all of the goodness that it held inside. This person took great care in visiting my blog prior to penning her words on the card as evident by what she shared. That meant so much that she took the time to do this. She got to know me by visiting my blog and reading in the “About Me” section first before she ever formed her thoughts to put inside of that card. What made it more special is that her maiden name was the same as my last name, so it felt like some where out there we could have been long lost relatives. Maybe that is a long shot, but it did make me smile when I read what she had written.
She took the time, put forth the effort, and made me feel special with what she wrote in that card!
I was encouraged and felt really good about this group.
The second week, I got out my cards again and prayed over the lady that would receive the card. I included my favorite bible verse yet again because it is powerful and means so much. I was hoping it would mean that much to the recipient as well.
I checked my mail box that week waiting for another beautiful card from a precious lady in this group.
Nothing came.
Week three, I did the same routine as before in preparing to mail my card to the next person on the list.
Again, nothing in my mail box this week.
I was beginning to feel forgotten. I did not like this feeling.
Still, I continued in sending my cards and blessing the one that would hold it in their hands.
Week four and then week five came and went with nary a card in my mailbox.
I learned a lesson. Just because I did everything I was supposed to do or need to do in order to participate, that did not ensure that others would reciprocate. Sure, they were “supposed” to as well, and they knew the instructions and what they had signed up for when they signed up. However, no more mail came from the group.
I realize that it was a busy time of year as everyone was involved in the spirit of Christmas, trying to find that perfect gift for their loved ones, making delicious recipes, baking cookies, and attending Christmas parties and church functions.
I believe in extending grace, too. Yet, week after week, I could not shake this feeling. I even thought perhaps it may have had something to do with where I was positioned on the list, as I was the very last one. The instructions were to start with the one above you until you circled around on the list to get everyone, even if that meant the first person on the list circled to the last person and the second on the list went to the first on that first week only to then circle the next week to the last on the list. Maybe the instructions were “clear as mud” thus the reason I only received one card. Yet, the ladies on the list were all intelligent enough to follow even those instructions.
Finally, I reached out to the admin of the group. She said she didn’t think it had anything to do with where I was on the list but that people were busy. She suggested that I could even write in the group mass Facebook message about it, and after careful consideration, I did but in a way that wasn’t insulting to those that did not include me when they mailed their cards. Instead, I thanked the one person that did take the time and put forth the effort to include me and make me feel special the moment I opened her card.
What I have learned from this is that it is so easy to get offended by what people do or do NOT do as in this case. However, my worth and value does not come from whether people remember me on a snail mail group listing or not. When I was feeling forgotten, I turned to God who never ever forgets about me. He loves me so much that He died on the cross to give me eternal life.
If I ever get discouraged with things of the world or people of the world, it only takes me shifting my focus and remembering who has me in the palm of His hand, and that, my friend, is Jesus Christ!
Sure, it would have been nice to have been included in the group and to have received the cards from others. However, even when that did not happen, I did my part, and that is all that I could do. I was not in control of others. I was only in control of myself. If I did what was required of me and went above and beyond, I need not feel forgotten. Instead, I needed to shake it off and go forth in the knowledge that God will never leave me nor forsake me. I am His, and He loves me. He knows every single hair on my head. He knew me before I was formed in my mother’s womb. And that … THAT is a great feeling!
If you have felt forgotten before in life … or maybe you’re feeling that right this very minute and can relate to how I was feeling, too … will you shift your focus just as I did toward God? He will take these feelings that threaten to overwhelm you and pull you down and replace them with such peace and love, if you only turn to Him and allow Him to work in your heart and life.
Blessings to you, dear friend. You are never ever forgotten by God above!
