Grounded And Settled: The Story Of A Mailbox

After living in our house for almost 7 years, we made a very significant change last week. No, we didn't remodel the kitchen or have all the landscaping updated.

We moved our mailbox.

The reason that this is such a huge, wonderful move is because of its former location. Our driveway starts right on the highway, at the bottom of a large hill to the north and a blind curve that splits into three lanes to the south. This made getting our mail incredibly dangerous because the box was on the opposite side of the highway.

To get the mail, we had three options: drive south and pull the car across oncoming traffic onto the opposite shoulder; pull out of the driveway to the north, park next to the mailbox and get out of the car; or walk across the highway. None of these solutions was safe by any stretch of the imagination, and I always felt like I was inconveniencing the traffic behind me while I was waiting for an opening to get across. I didn't want to be judging my safety every time I wanted to get our bills and junk mail.

So recently I went to the post office - with pictures in hand - to ask about moving the mailbox to our side of the road, at the foot of our driveway. I explained the dangerous situation we had and gave a presentation of the facts that any lawyer would have been proud of. We didn't just want to be lazy and not walk all the way over to check the mail. It was about traffic going at least 60 mph around us while we're executing these maneuvers.

The very next day we were given the ok to move the box, to my delight and relief. So then we set out to physically move the mailbox. I was prepared for a huge process of digging and sweating and straining ... for Danny. But when you have the right tools for the job, like a post hole digger, it's so much easier. (Says the girl who sat on the tailgate and watched.) A few tugs on the box itself and it was ready to go.

I thought about Paul's letter to the Colossians as Danny made a hole deep enough to hold the post in place.

And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister. Colossians 1:21-23

If the post isn't grounded deeply enough in the dirt and rock, the first 18-wheeler going past will knock it to the ground. And the box is pretty useless if it's not upright. The same principle applies to the Christian: if we're not grounded and settled in what we believe, we can't be used by God in the best ways. We're pretty useless, like a mailbox on the ground, if we'll tumble over when the slightest wind comes along.

We don't need a fancy post hole digger to be grounded in God's word. What we do need is to be reading Scripture on a daily basis, spending time in prayer and being in church every time the doors are open. This is the only way we'll be so settled in our faith that we'll withstand whatever circumstances may come.

In less time than I imagined, Danny had the perfect hole dug, and we secured the box into its new place. The packed-in dirt and rock will hold it upright so it can do its job, and it's in a new, safe place for us to get the mail. All because it's deep enough below ground, we can trust that it's secure for years to come.