God and a Gingerbread Man

I never expected to encounter God at the bakery. I was just following an impression to pick up some pastries. 

I grew up with a "poverty" mindset, meaning anything above the essentials - like eating out - seemed extravagant. Buying something from a bakery was a luxury. 

As I pulled out of the library parking lot to head home, I thought about surprising my son with some cherry Danish - a reward for finishing another exhausting semester of grad school. I hesitated. My Scottish frugality wrestled with the desire to treat him to something special for all his hard work.

The Danish won. Or rather the cherry strudel since the Danish had sold out. The gentleman to my right was paying for his German chocolate cake and other bakery items. In front of me was a basket of oversized gingerbread men with brightly colored frosting. 

"How much are the gingerbread men?" the stranger asked.

"$4.95," replied the cashier.

"I'll take one." He reached over in front of me and picked up one of the smiling cookies and paid for his purchases.

What happened next took my breath away. With a slight turn in my direction he extended the gingerbread man toward me saying,

"Here, This is for you. Merry Christmas," and then exited the store.

What could have compelled this man to such an act of kindness? I was well-dressed - no signs of poverty or neediness could have pricked his heart. He knew nothing of my childhood or how his generosity would touch my heart and cause me to cry all the way home - tears of wonder and of healing.
 
Even now, days later, tears trickle down my cheeks as I remember the extravagant love of an invisible God made visible through a stranger.

Only God could have put me in that spot, at that very moment when he would be checking out. Only God could have prompted him to make a split second decision to bless someone he would never see again. Only God knew how to transform the bleakness of my childhood with the smiling face of a gingerbread man.

" "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above..." (James 1:7)

As we go about this Christmas season, let us be reminded of the perfect gift of Jesus Christ. The One who came to save our souls, redeem us from sin and heal our hearts.