delay is not a denial

[read time: 2 minutes]

on wednesday 3/2/11, i received a package sent from my brother in florida.

when i opened the box, i realized the contents had been packed MONTHS earlier due to the bounty of christmas-themed items.

the contents included these AWESOME slippers, which i put on immediately and snapped this photo  —>

i chuckled to myself and remembered one of my favorite quotes from Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith: “a delay is not a denial”

time jump to december 2008: i had my FAVORITE movie “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” shipped express via amazon.com to my father’s house to make absolutely sure that the my nephews (and the rest of the family) would be able to enjoy this holiday gem.

time jump to december 2009: made sure to pack Rudy for heavy movie rotation at my cousin’s house… because in my opinion, no one can get enough of this movie

time jump to early december 2010: my brother called me on a reconnaissance mission to acquire my address and shoe size.  i gave them to him not knowing exactly why he’d become so interested in my feet.

time jump to january 2011: my brother calls to wish me happy birthday. i am thankful and we chat about my celebration plans and i get updates on the babies. i also let him know that whatever he has sent has still not yet arrived.

time jump to delivery date: so when the package FINALLY shows up i spent all of 3 seconds being full on livid at the US Postal Service. then when i saw the faces of my brother’s family all dressed in red for the holiday i melted into gratitude.  and then i got full on giddy when i saw the Rudolph slippers.

this delay reminded me that just because something i want takes a longer than i anticipate it doesn’t mean that it isn’t going to happen.  and even though Rudolph is so last season, i didn’t take them off for 3 days straight (well… except for sleeping), literally, walking in gratitude.

the delay on getting my slippers was a demonstration that things don’t necessarily have to come “on time” to be appreciated.  and in retrospect, i realize that things i considered “late” or “delayed” were actually in divine time.