What NOT to do when you go on a food delivery route, as told from a long-term food delivery volunteer.

“I should have known better. But I made a dumb mistake, a mistake that could have cost me my life.

Every month I always visit the same families. Most all of us do if we have committed to the food delivery ministry. The last seven years or so, I’ve been committed. And over these years I have met some amazing people, people that have become friends and family to me. The people I visit have changed over the years, due to stability, relocation and personal situations. But, when one comes off the route, God quickly adds a new one.

I’ve been visiting this one family for about a year. A bedridden lady lives in the room downstairs and the lady who cares for her lives on the main floor where the front door is located. I’m a prepared personality and I always call ahead to make sure the family will be home and expecting me. I usually confirm when I am close so we consistently have a thirty minute window of when we expect to see each other. This day was not an exception. They were expecting me.

The front door was open and only the screen door blocked me from access into the home. I yelled for the lady who lives in the bed downstairs and I really thought I heard her yell back to come on in. So, I walked in the door and went downstairs to speak to her face to face so she knew it was me. We talked for a moment and I told her I would go to the kitchen to put the food up.

As I unpacked the food box, which takes about a minute, I heard a man enter the room. Being a man myself, I greeted him, but he was already cursing me out and yelling for me to get out of his house. I had met him once, ten months before. (He also cussed me out during that 1st visit for turning around in his driveway, then apologized when I introduced myself with the food box. That was the last time he has been home and the first time I brought food to his family.) Here he was irate again and I really did not know what to do. I tried to explain I had yelled down, she had told me to come in and I was only here to bring the food to them. He didn’t seem to hear it.

Maybe I had really scared him. Maybe he thought I was a threat. Here I was emptying food into his fridge and freezer, but I could never communicate with him. He kept cursing me and yelling for me to get out of his house. I left promptly. As I got to the steps, he came to the front door still yelling at me.

When I got to my car, I finally felt free to feel shook up. Wow, what could have happened to me? I have a wife and kids at home and I walked in that house with no consideration that someone might be there that didn’t want me there. I shouldn’t have walked into that home until someone came to the door. I made a gross error, but God graciously protected me.

So, I want to remind you to not get too comfortable to forget to consider something basic. Wait for the invitation in. Wait for someone to come open the door for you. Make sure that you are welcome before you enter.

God has great purpose in our relationships and this family really does need food. This week I keep running scenarios trying to put myself in that man’s shoes. What if I had walked in my kitchen and found a man I didn’t know in there? Maybe I would have started cursing someone too, knowing my kids were in the next room doing their homework or my wife in the laundry room loading the dryer.

Since this incident, his wife has called several times to apologize, but understands & agrees it’s not safe when he’s there. Two other families I serve, who referred me to this family, heard what happened from the wife, called to apologize for recommending them and INSISTED that I not return. One of the ladies I serve told me my daughters needed me more than any family needs a food box (which says a lot coming from a very ill, blind widow on dialysis who depends on her food box.)

No doubt God meant to teach me a valuable lesson & protect me, while scaring me enough to remember what happened and share the story with others. We must remember to never get too comfortable to forget that we can really alarm someone if they are not expecting us. We want to respect the homes we visit and not terrify anyone. A mistake like this could have had dire consequences.

Here’s the bottom line… no matter what the circumstances and/or how well you know a family, DO NOT enter their house unless they open the door & invite you in!”

What NOT to do when you go on a food delivery route, as told from a long-term food delivery volunteer.

“I should have known better. But I made a dumb mistake, a mistake that could have cost me my life.

Every month I always visit the same families. Most all of us do if we have committed to the food delivery ministry. The last seven years or so, I’ve been committed. And over these years I have met some amazing people, people that have become friends and family to me. The people I visit have changed over the years, due to stability, relocation and personal situations. But, when one comes off the route, God quickly adds a new one.

I’ve been visiting this one family for about a year. A bedridden lady lives in the room downstairs and the lady who cares for her lives on the main floor where the front door is located. I’m a prepared personality and I always call ahead to make sure the family will be home and expecting me. I usually confirm when I am close so we consistently have a thirty minute window of when we expect to see each other. This day was not an exception. They were expecting me.

The front door was open and only the screen door blocked me from access into the home. I yelled for the lady who lives in the bed downstairs and I really thought I heard her yell back to come on in. So, I walked in the door and went downstairs to speak to her face to face so she knew it was me. We talked for a moment and I told her I would go to the kitchen to put the food up.

As I unpacked the food box, which takes about a minute, I heard a man enter the room. Being a man myself, I greeted him, but he was already cursing me out and yelling for me to get out of his house. I had met him once, ten months before. (He also cussed me out during that 1st visit for turning around in his driveway, then apologized when I introduced myself with the food box. That was the last time he has been home and the first time I brought food to his family.) Here he was irate again and I really did not know what to do. I tried to explain I had yelled down, she had told me to come in and I was only here to bring the food to them. He didn’t seem to hear it.

Maybe I had really scared him. Maybe he thought I was a threat. Here I was emptying food into his fridge and freezer, but I could never communicate with him. He kept cursing me and yelling for me to get out of his house. I left promptly. As I got to the steps, he came to the front door still yelling at me.

When I got to my car, I finally felt free to feel shook up. Wow, what could have happened to me? I have a wife and kids at home and I walked in that house with no consideration that someone might be there that didn’t want me there. I shouldn’t have walked into that home until someone came to the door. I made a gross error, but God graciously protected me.

So, I want to remind you to not get too comfortable to forget to consider something basic. Wait for the invitation in. Wait for someone to come open the door for you. Make sure that you are welcome before you enter.

God has great purpose in our relationships and this family really does need food. This week I keep running scenarios trying to put myself in that man’s shoes. What if I had walked in my kitchen and found a man I didn’t know in there? Maybe I would have started cursing someone too, knowing my kids were in the next room doing their homework or my wife in the laundry room loading the dryer.

Since this incident, his wife has called several times to apologize, but understands & agrees it’s not safe when he’s there. Two other families I serve, who referred me to this family, heard what happened from the wife, called to apologize for recommending them and INSISTED that I not return. One of the ladies I serve told me my daughters needed me more than any family needs a food box (which says a lot coming from a very ill, blind widow on dialysis who depends on her food box.)

No doubt God meant to teach me a valuable lesson & protect me, while scaring me enough to remember what happened and share the story with others. We must remember to never get too comfortable to forget that we can really alarm someone if they are not expecting us. We want to respect the homes we visit and not terrify anyone. A mistake like this could have had dire consequences.

Here’s the bottom line… no matter what the circumstances and/or how well you know a family, DO NOT enter their house unless they open the door & invite you in!”