A Pleasant Surprise

To my surprise and delight I received a massive package this week from my church back home in Olathe (Faith Journey)!  In it were items such as sewing supplies, handmade Christmas decorations and photos, evidence that this package was well thought-out and packed with love just for me! To my Faith Journey family I say, "THANK YOU!".

As I sat marveling at all the wonderful goodies in this box, I felt so loved.  It got me thinking about all that went into ensuring that this parcel would reach me in time for Christmas. . .humor me for a moment.

  1) An announcement was probably made at church to put items in the box. 2) A generous friend probably offered to pay for the postage. 3) Dozens of families signed a card; 4) Time was spent knitting the stocking inside. 5) A lesson was planned and followed through with the preschool kids where they created the lovely  handmade ornaments;  6) All these things were packed in a box and my friend made the trek to the post office, paid the fee, and sent them on their way.  7)  Then the box went through two weeks of sorting and traveling by plane and truck over 10,000 miles until it arrived at our local Kiwi Post across the street two weeks later. 

Whew!  What a journey this package has been on!  And all just to bless me for Christmas; to make me smile and let me know I was not forgotten.  I didn’t expect it, nor do I deserve it!  But alas it is here and it is mine.  J

 You know, this is the season of Advent, meaning the "coming".  It is the expectant waiting for Jesus Christ, the Hope of the World, to come.  For Christians, the season of Advent serves as a reminder both of the original waiting that was done by the Hebrews for the birth of their Messiah , as well as the waiting of for Christ's return again.

It’s like waiting for that special package to arrive, but not even knowing that it is on its way.  Imagine the hours just prior to Christ’s birth. The world was totally unaware that the greatest gift, the One they had been longing for, was already on His way! Like the wonderful package that I received, God wrapped his package up in the form of a baby, paid the postage, and used Mary as the courier if you will. (For lack of a better analogy.)

God had all the processes and plans in place from the foundation of the world, so that at just the right time in history Jesus Christ would be born to bring healing to the World and make a way for us to finally be close to the Father God. We didn’t expect it, nor did we deserve it.  But ahhh, the relief now that we know Christ the Saviour  is here.