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Some years ago, God invited Jay and me to come with Him as He delivered Gifts to people.
It started just as what we thought was our idea to do something nice for a friend. We didn’t realize God was teaching us the basics of being a part of His Delivery Team.
Then He stepped it up a notch. He gave us people we did not know very well. And then He gave us complete strangers.
Being rather shy and introverted, I was not sure how this would work. I asked The Lord, “What if they think I’m weird? Aren’t they going to wonder why I am giving them a gift?”
He replied, “They might. But I still want you to do it. My gifts are for both you and the ones I show you.”
I did not understand that then, but I do now. He gave us a tremendous Gift.
When God brought someone to mind, we would do what He said to do.
This became an interesting exercise in listening to God and not questioning why He was saying to deliver the specific gifts He told us to select.
We also had to get used to not gauging the success of the mission by the responses of the recipients.
Some people were delighted to receive an unexpected gift from an unexpected source.
Some people were suspicious of our motives. They questioned heavily why we were giving them a gift.
Some people felt bad they were not prepared to give us something in return. Some felt obligated to seek us out later and give us a gift. Even though we certainly did not give to get, we received their gifts, understanding it was important to them to give back.
Some people felt so uncomfortable, they seemed to avoid us afterwards. This made us sad. God told us not to worry about it, but continue to agree with the Peace, Love and Joy He would give them in other ways.
God gave us a wonderful confirmation of His Plans one snowy, icy December night.
There was a clerk at the hospital where I worked. She was stern and followed every rule to the letter. She had no patience for anyone who did not do the same.
Many avoided her. She seemed to stay in her own limited space and she appeared to have no friends.
Then the day came when she was not in her usual spot. At first we did not notice. But then we began to miss her. She had been the rudder of our ship, keeping us in the bounds and warning us when we strayed too far.
I tried to find out where she was. Finally her boss told me in hushed tones, she had cancer and was off duty being treated.
As I prayed for her, God alerted me she was to be our next delivery. I began to put together a basket of things, as He directed.
Almost as an afterthought, I added a cuddly teddy bear. I could not imagine her with such a thing, but God seemed insistent the bear was to be added.
The night came we planned to deliver. It not only snowed, it iced. The roads looked treacherous. I was ready to postpone the delivery.
However, Jay felt intently we were supposed to make the delivery that night. And he was the driver. So off we went.
The streets were slippery. Her neighborhood did not look merry. It looked scary. We pulled into her icy driveway and managed to make it to her door with our basket.
The woman who answered the door looked like a shadow of her former self. She invited us in, but clearly had her guard up.
Not only was she one of those who would question the motives of two people she didn’t know very well showing up at her door on such a night, she likely recognized her health status made her vulnerable.
No rules or regulations had stopped the relentless march of cancer.
Then she spotted the bear. She picked it up and burst into tears. I immediately thought I had made a terrible mistake. I did not know how to explain it to her because I really could not explain it myself.
She sat and cuddled the bear for a few minutes before she said, “How did you know?”
She then told us her story, a story she likely had carried with her all her life. She had had an abusive childhood followed by other relationships that did not work out.
She said when she was a child, she had a teddy bear she clung to through the bad times. She had rubbed it so much, it started falling apart.
She knew she would never get another one. In fact, she did not want another one. She had become one with the bear.
She said in order to save it, she put it in a jar, and held the jar close to her. But the jar was cold. She said it was not the same. She said when she grew up, she let the bear go.
She said she thought it would be silly for a grown woman to get a teddy bear.
She looked at us and said, “But tonight you brought me my bear. How did you know?”
We were able to talk about how we were actually just delivery people for God. He saw her. He knew the desires of her heart.
He saw that she had become like her bear, in a jar to keep from being totally destroyed. He wanted to free her.
And so she was. Her real healing began that night. Not long after that, God promoted her to Heaven.
I don’t know the story of her last days on earth, but I like to think perhaps she was holding the bear.
And that is why we have continued making deliveries for God. I pray we never miss an opportunity to choose the right things at the right time to carry His Message of Love.
I also like to think maybe we are in training for our next assignments in Heaven. Being on God’s Delivery Team sounds like Heaven to me!
I bring you good tidings of great Joy!
Luke 2:10
