It is always cool when you get something that you do not expect (well, not always, but I mean when it is a good thing). We have always favored the myth of Santa with our kids. We did not want to spoil their Christmas or make them the mythological sages of their class by telling them that there was not a reclusive man from the frozen tundra with many little people working for him who was praised for his gift of infringing the copyright of every major toy company a million times over. We wanted to comfort them by letting them know that he would be pulled along in the sky by a dozen white tails at a speed faster than lightning only to land on our house, go down our chimney, eat our cookies and leave us the toys that his well-paid, well-benefited team of undersized employees had made custom ordered for us. We wanted them to know that he worked all the malls and hocked pictures in order to pay for the largest toy industry in the world. We wanted them to find comfort in sitting in this one older man's lap, although a stranger that always looks slightly different, and tell him all their personal information while he gives them candy. Without sharing that with your kids, what is Christmas? I know what Christmas is, of course, and none of this should get in the way of the real meaning, however, how do you not get on the largest conspiracy in human history? We did it, OK! I am sorry and do not spoil for the one who still believes and the other that will act like she does, if she is going to get more out of it.
Right after we moved here, we were blessed with one of Mississippi's finest straight line storms that blew one of our 33 trees over and on top of our trampoline. (Yes, we had one of those devices that now tell you not to jump on it unless you land on your feet or bottom alone. Hospitals would lose revenue if people followed such instructions.) The tree destroyed our toy. I was hoping it would be gone now, however, my daughters and their mom continued to pine for us to have another one. I said, 'No' and then put my order in with the reclusive man with all the little guys. It was built in a secret location not too far from our back door and placed almost out of sight (unless you looked over the gate on the other side of the house). On Christmas Eve, Santa and his MUCH larger elves went out and moved it to its spot and put the safety net on it, while it POURED DOWN rain. The elves are not happy with just cookies. They want a lot more than that.
The next morning we awoke to a red string of yarn and a sign that said, 'Follow the string.' To be such a recluse, the ole boy has an imagination, even if he does write like a woman. We followed the string and what to my wondering eyes did appear but a fine 14ft. trampoline in the backyard. The kids were so excited and that made Mom excited and then my oldest looked at me and said, "I told you Santa would bring us one but you said, 'No.' I told you, Daddy."
She was expecting to get what she asked for while she was also trying to get to the bottom of THE conspiracy.
There is another mystery that I read about this morning (www.lifejournal.cc) : the mystery of prayer. The church was praying that Peter would be released from jail and would not suffer for speaking out for Christ. God answered their prayers and Peter went to their house but they would not answer. They were too busy praying for his release to believe that he had been released. Acts 12:16- But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. They were praying but they were not expecting. How many times have we prayed and not expected? Isn't it a shame? The God that loves us so much that He gave His Son for us and empowered us with abilities and opportunities well beyond our own has told us to ask, seek, and knock through prayer, so that He can work in us. Yet, when He answers, we are as surprised as a kid standing on the end of a long string of yarn looking at a huge, unexpected Christmas gift in the backyard. It should not be. Pray often, fervently, and expectantly and do it today!
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