“It’s time to water the mailman,” I said.

The woman standing in line with me pretended not to hear me. When I turned toward her she nervously looked out of the corner of her eye at me.

I smiled.

“I do it every year,” I said.

She smiled, looked at me and shrugged her shoulders.

“That’s why I’m buying this case of bottled water,” I said.

“That’s nice,” she finally replied.

I was next in line so I paid for my items and said to the clerk, “This is for my mailman.”

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate it. It’s going to get hot later in the week” she said.

I then turned toward the woman and said, “Would you like one?”

She politely shook her head and said, “No, thank you.”

As I walked away I paused for a moment to re-adjust my grip on the case of water. I could hear the woman say, “Is he crazy? He wants to water his mailman?”

The clerk who knows me very well from shopping there almost daily began to explain, “He does this every year. He puts a few bottles out on his porch in ice when the weather gets hot. He tells me the mailman loves it.”

“Oh, that’s what he meant. It sounded strange, “watering the mailman” she said.

“He’s a writer,” the clerk added.

“Oh, that explains everything.” The woman said laughing.

I continued out the door and headed home.

I thought about it for awhile. I know why I do it. I feel I should and often struggle with those times I am not at home when he comes by. I worry he might plan on it and not find any there.

I do it because I appreciate him…rain snow, sleet etc. …he delivers.

Watering the mailman. Actually, that’s exactly what I do. I take care of him. I add to his day. In turn I have gained a friend. I think we need to do that in our relationships. He need to tend to those people who bring something special to our lives. We need to appreciate the things we take for granted.

I remember my father inviting the coal man into our house one time when he delivered coal to us the day before Christmas. He offered him a drink and some snacks.

He was “watering the coal man.”

Every time I go shopping I always make appreciative comments to the clerks. I do it to brighten their monotonous day.

I give a tip to the girl at the pizza shop even when I am just picking it up myself.

Please don’t see this as bragging. I’m not full of myself. Truthfully I even surprised myself when I began to think about all the people I fuss over.

It doesn’t call for praise. It’s really something we should do all the time. Those little things in the big picture keeps the world a little more bearable.

I’m not talking about the courteous people who get paid to be nice as a part of customer service. I’m talking about the guy who holds the door for the next person. The woman who stops to make a comment about a new born.

They water the world.

The water represents life. A tiny drop of kindness makes the world healthy, better off and perhaps reflects hope in the eyes of the hopeless.

Yes, that’s it. All those little things, those tiny drops of water, add up to make waves in an otherwise dry, barren life.

God waters my soul. God fills up my cup and it overflows with millions of tiny drops of living water. God nourishes my spirit in those dry times by watering the gifts He has given me.

He leaves a bottle of cleansing hope waiting for me along my path to deliver my stories to the world.

Why not join me. Together we can “water the world!”

Bob Perks Bob@BobPerks.com