A great blessing of Christmas is present. Of course, at my age I am not too interested in what I receive but rather what I give.
I can’t think of one thing I would really want. I got everything I need even though some of them may be old and outdated. As long as it works, I’m happy with it.
Therefore, it is not what I am receiving that is important to me. I love seeing the smile on my grandchildren’s faces when they open a gift. I am so delighted how they are opening their presents because I didn’t buy it. I paid for it, but it’s the job of the Gracious Parsonage Mistress to do all the shopping, gift buying, wrapping and all that goes with it.
If it were up to me, nothing would really get done, which would be sad.
Like I say, I’m not looking for much for Christmas this year, just enjoying family and celebrating.
Then something happened last week that changed that attitude of mine.
In the mailbox this week, I received a letter from the state traffic department. I was a bit nervous opening it because I had never received a letter like this before. Why did they send me a letter? What kind of trouble am I in?
When I opened it, I noticed that it was a traffic violation notice. After another warning, I saw that it was not for me. Can you guess who this traffic violation was for? Two guesses, and it’s not me.
I don’t really like to dance, but I must admit that I danced a little happily while reading this letter.
Consequently, my wife had a traffic violation and was recorded by a camera.
Looking at the photo, she didn’t look like my wife at all. The whole image was blacked out so you couldn’t see anything. Oh well, she had her name, what else do I need?
Walking into the house, he was whistling happily and maybe dancing.
“Why are you so happy?”
Looking at my wife, I said, “I’m sorry. What did you say?” I heard her, but I wanted to hear her repeat it.
“You heard me. Why are you so happy?”
I was going to ask him to repeat it, but I thought otherwise.
Handing him the letter, I said with the biggest smile on my face I’ve ever had, “You have a traffic ticket.”
There are moments in life to celebrate, and as far as I’m concerned, this was one of those moments. Not very often, if ever, do I get over the Gracious Parsonage Mistress. This was the first time, and I didn’t quite know how to handle myself. How much happiness is too much happiness?
“This can’t be my ticket,” he said with a very nasty growl.
“I think it is. It has your name and badge number. Who else is it?”
He went out to his van and checked the license plate number. It was not the correct number.
“It’s not the correct license plate number, so it can’t be mine.”
At this point, my happiness peaked. I didn’t expect something like this. I was expecting a traffic violation. The total was $2.35. It didn’t look like much, but there it was. I could enjoy this moment for the rest of my life. Oh how sweet life can be, especially at Christmas.
He handed the letter back to me and said, “Look, this rape was last week in Miami. I wasn’t in Miami last week. This can’t be right.”
My happiness was on a downward spiral. I looked at the letter several times only to find out that he was right. She’s always right, and here was a new proof. I advised him to take it to the sheriff’s department and see what they thought.
It wasn’t long before she returned and entered the house whistling merrily but not dancing.
“Why are you so happy?”
He looked at me with a smile and a Merry Christmas twinkle in his eye and said, “The sheriff’s department told me this was a scam. It’s not my ticket. They told me to destroy it and forget about it.”
Looking at me smiling, he said, “Aren’t you happy for me?”
All I could do was look back, smile, and say, “Yes, dear.”
Of all the tickets I have received, I was able to enjoy one for my wife.
It wasn’t a very serious problem, but he could have gotten a lot out of it. Now it’s gone. Just when you think you have something, it turns out to be nothing.
I’m glad the ticket was a fraud. I was thinking about what the apostle Paul said. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
It’s that time of year when we think of all things to be thankful for. I’m not sure how many blessings I have because some of the most important ones are the ones I don’t see. If I rest in God, he will take care of all the blessings I need in life.
