Lesson from the Paper Delivery Guy

Lessons from the paper delivery guy.

Last spring, while headed out on my 5:15 AM jog, I noticed a rather beat-up vehicle driving in my neighborhood.  The driver and his passenger were cruising down my street and I suddenly felt a sense of fear.  Did I set my house alarm?  Am I safe in the dark and all alone?  It isn’t normal to see a black man in a beat-up car on my street.  Especially in the wee hours of the morning.

I checked in with God, and I felt a sense of peace, but I truly wondered why this guy was here.  Then I realized he was delivering the morning paper.  I still didn’t like it.  He didn’t “belong” in my neighborhood.  Especially in the dark.

I saw him the next morning, and then the next.  His car was loud and left noxious fumes, making it hard for me to breathe during my jog.  But I began to see his dedication to his task of delivering the paper.  No one else in my neighborhood is up at 5:15. 

I began looking for him each morning, expecting to hear his car – or smell it sometime in my 2 mile jaunt.  And he was there.  Every time!

It has now been a year.  This young man and his female companion have been delivering papers faithfully every morning that I have been out on my run.   What I thought was someone to fear turned out to be someone to respect.  Who else gets up before the sun to drive house to house?  What a tiresome job!  That takes dedication.

Now when I see (hear and smell) his car each morning, I am not worried about my safety.  I am instead, grateful for his work ethic and I bless his old jalopy that it will continue to provide him the opportunity to do his job. 

We often talk about appearances not necessarily being what they seem.  A young black man, seated shifted to one side in his beat up, loud and smelly car in a nice neighborhood could spell trouble.  Or it could mean – just dedication to a rather thankless and monotonous job.  I think others could certainly learn from his example.