I never saw Mr. Sam again. I continued to deliver mail to his business, always extra careful to place the letters square in the proper mailbox. Eventually, his business moved out, and that was that.

I admit, I may have felt rather snarky about Sam, remembering the discomfort of our one and only encounter. He had all but accused me of incompetence, after all. And I had endured hours of distress over it.

Yeah, I told the tale afterward—the conceited man of prestigious business who unjustly lorded it over me, a struggling mail ma’am carrying Christmas to all of Kimball Junction.

Only, maybe not. I’ve lately fallen into some speculation about Sam. Strange…I haven’t thought about him in years. I didn’t know Sam, and he didn’t know me. But what if I had known what led him to that exchange with me?

Maybe a Dickensian spirit has settled on me, prompting this “ghost of Christmas past” to examine the possibilities. (Does this kind of thing happen to everyone a week after watching George C. Scott’s Ebenezer Scrooge on TV?)

So, my speculations follow.

It’s always been curious to me that Sam repeatedly mentioned his “prestigious business.” At the time, it sounded boastful at best, condescending at worst. What did he mean by it?

What were those missing tickets? It could have been anything from ski passes to Nutcracker seats at the Capitol Theater in Salt Lake City. How many tickets, and who for? And what was riding on those tickets? Was he praying to find them too?

Suppose Sam was responsible for getting valuable tickets into specific hands. I never gave that possibility much thought. What if the consequences of missing tickets were embarrassing, even dire? Maybe crucial clients were involved, even the reputation of Sam and his business.

What if the consequences were heartbreaking? A disappointed child, maybe seriously sick?

What would Sam have had to face if he couldn’t produce those tickets? (Now I’m sliding into George Bailey territory, as in It’s a Wonderful Life.)

I’ll never know the answer. Maybe none of these questions even come close. But asking them has turned a new light upon this Sam of ten years ago. I’m feeling more charity toward him than I did before.

This feels nicer than grieving a long-healed wound.

If we knew the unexpressed motivations of people around us, just imagine how we could understand a person instead of judge a person. Sam’s purposes were likely as important to him as mine were to me. He had his reasons, no doubt. If he didn’t reveal them to me, well, I’ve done the same. Haven’t we all?

If I came face-to-face with Sam tomorrow, we probably wouldn’t notice each other. Maybe Sam has never given me another thought since that day. But it feels better that I have switched from grudge to good will. I hope Sam’s tickets made a difference for himself or for someone he cared about.

But I’m still glad it wasn’t me who fumbled the blessed tickets!

That incident launched a prayer purpose within me that carries on still. Ever since, I have prayed daily over the mail. I can’t do the job without praying, it seems, and I’m fine with that. I need Heaven’s help, so I ask for it. And Heaven is very giving, always.

A MAIL CARRIER’S PRAYER

                Heavenly Father, thank you for helping me to sort and load my mail route today. I ask Thee to please bless me and my fellow mail carriers with the strength, the focus, and the protection we need to deliver our routes accurately, efficiently, and safely.

            Please enable us to deliver all our items to the correct recipients and receptacles, and to place our keys correctly. Help us to scan 100% of our barcodes, and to do all things in good order.

            Please bless our postal customers.

            Help us to maintain possession of our car keys, our route keys, and our scanners. Also our phones and valuables. Bless us to be good stewards over the mail entrusted to us, and the vehicles.

            Please bless our vehicles to operate properly and spare us from breakdowns and mishaps and collisions. Please keep us safe whatever the weather and traffic conditions.

             Thank you for angels to guard our vehicles and the contents thereof.

            Thank you, Lord, for the work you have provided, and for this beautiful day, and for the love and care of Heaven every day.

            In the name of Jesus Christ, Thy Beloved Son, our Savior. Amen.

“…let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare, and also for the welfare of those who are around you.  Alma 34:27

”Judge not, that ye be not judged.”  Matthew 7:1