Monday, December 6, 2010

A Christmas Miracle

I wouldn't normally post two entries in one week, but this story just HAS to be told...

Yesterday Jeromy and i stayed unusually late at church visiting with my parents.  We debated between eating out or just coming home and opted to save the money and come home.  As we pulled up to our house, we noticed a courier van parked in our drive way.  We were both a little shocked. We never are the ones ordering or receiving packages, so needless to say we were excited to see what it was.  As we drove in, a man came around his van holding a Christmas package.  It was a large square box wrapped in pretty Christmas paper. We said our hellos and asked him what this was? Who was is from? As he handed me the gift, he simply said "The North Pole." Shocked, i didn't know how to respond. "Well, thank you!" I said with a smile. The driver just turned and got back in to his van.  As he backed down the driveway, i waited. Hoping to smile and wave to him as he looked back towards us, but he never did. He simply drove away. 

We were all excited and anxious about this mystery gift as we entered the house. Jeromy was on my heels as we walked up the stairs. "Who was this from?" we kept saying. "What is it?"  Once we set it on the couch, we looked more closely. There was no paper, no markings, no card. Nothing on the outside identifying its sender. Hmmmm.  Maybe on the inside?  We unwrapped the package and opened the box. Inside we saw three adorable Dr. Seuss stuffed animals.  For the kids, we assumed. There were even silly bands attached to the tags. Two "treat" silly bands and one "tanks" 100% perfect for our kids. The kids went bananas opening the bracelets and hugging the toys. They were oblivious to the mystery that was unfolding in our minds. Jeromy and i looked at each other, shocked. "Who was this from?" we repeated.  Under the stuffed animals, was a book. 'Theres a wocket in my pocket' by Dr. Seuss. But still, no markings identifying the sender.  Confusion slowly stirred as we noticed a a small typed word sticking out of the book. "READ ME"  What? What is going on? I felt like i fell through the rabbit hole and i would soon be drinking potion to make myslef smaller. Who. Did. This?

Curiously, Jeromy and i obeyed the command and picked up that book and started to read it.  Before we could even get to the pages, we found another sheet of paper. This time larger and with more typing on it. "When life gets rough, and hope seems gone, Know that you are loved and you are not alone. Merry Christmas"   Who? we both though silently.  Who sent this? Taped to that note was a gift card. No, not just one gift card, 4. As we flipped through them, we seemed to be in shock. Who? We never once even thought to look at the dollar amount until we got to the last gift card. The amount stirred instant emotion. As my eyes filled with tears my heart and spirit were overwhlemed and overflowing with gratitude... Who? Why us? How?
I told Jeromy to look at the amount on the gift card and we both stood there. Shocked. Completely shocked. The feelings flooded us instantaneously. Gratitude. Awe. Thankfulness. Wonder. Humility.  I knew this present was a gift straight from God. Given by a person, but sent from God.  We gathered together with the kids and their toys and prayed. We thanked God for this amazing gift. We asked God to bless the anonymous giver beyond measure. We prayed for wisdom to use this wisely. We thanked God. Again and again. We thanked God. Silently i was praying my own prayer to God Why? Thank you. But why? You know i will follow you regardless. Thank you. I recognize that its from you. Thank you.

Slowly Jeromy and i felt the whole weight of this gift. This gift was inhuman. This act of kindness was unheard of. And to do it anonymously? Who? Who would give so generously and ask for nothing in return? I felt like i needed to get to the bottom of this. I needed this person to know the enormity of gratitude that we felt. I had to tell them. How could we just accept something this grand. Why couldn't we bless them right back with our heartfelt and overwhelming thanks. Who? Immediately i called my Mom. Though, i knew in my heart that it wasn't from them. My composure failed me as i started to describe, in detail, the evens that had just taken place. Immediately my mother felt the emotions that i was feeling. Who? She felt overwhelmed with thankfulness for us. Gratitude. She felt the weight of what had just unraveled and couldn't find the words.  Like us, we all felt no words quite did this miraculous act justice.

 After i talked to her i went down the list of people that may have done this. There are only so many people that you can think that would give so generously. And to do it anonymously.  It is simply unheard of. Attempt after attempt failed as we got to the end of our list. Who?  The last resort was to call the courier company back.  As i spoke to the man who answered i said that "i had an anonymous package delivered to my house today...was it from you?" I waited. Nervous. Were we the recipients of a random act of kindness? It couldn't be, how did they know to give us three stuffed animals. And silly bands. This person just has to know us.  The man immediately recognized me. "Ya, arent' you guys up there in East Bethel?" YES!!! Yes we are!  Finally, i was going to know who sent this. I asked him if he could reveal the sender. I felt him smile across the phone. "Sorry, i am bound to secrecy"  "No", i said. "I am just so confused. Please if you could just tell me."  He said that he could contact the sender and let them know that i was confused. Noooooooo. That is NOT what i wanted to tell this giver. My friend. "No, i said, please don't tell them i am confused. But if you would call them, would you please tell them that we are grateful. That this is a phenomenal and life changing thing. And thank you. Would you tell them that?"  The man said he would indeed tell them our feelings. As we said good bye i wished him a good day. He responded "This just made my day ma'am."  I felt his emotions across the line. He was in on it and it was touching his heart too. Who? Jeromy and i sat downstairs, stumped. Who?

We wondered if digging any further would detract from our joy. We didn't want to ruin anything for the anonymous angel. We just needed to tell them thank you. For the next few hours we seemed to float from room to room. Silently thinking. Verbally pondering. Thankfully praying. Who? We felt so unworthy of such generosity. How do you accept something of this magnitude?  Our minds were mush and our emotions were spent. Who? We pondered every idea we could. Be we finally decided to be thankful that the delivery service was going to relay our message. We hoped they would understand the fullness of our gratitude. Our overwhelming thankfulness.  We agreed as a family that this truly was, a Christmas miracle. A miracle. There is no doubt in my mind. As i sit here today, almost 24 hours later, i still feel like maybe I'll wake up and this will all have been a dream. And if i never find out who was the anonymous angel?....I suppose i will have to live with that.  But if that person is reading this, i hope you can feel the enormous weight of our overwhelming gratitude for you kindness. Know that we know we are not worthy of it. We feel the weight of it and will ration and protect every cent of this gift. Know we are thankful. From the depths of our heart, thank you.

And you know what?  If that courier driver drove out of our neighborhood and straight up into heaven...i wouldn't be one bit surprised. Because God was here yesterday. I felt it. His power and presence in undeniable. And for that, i am even more grateful. Thank you!