Timidly, I stood at the entryway, peering into the light. With a tiny seed of tremulous faith, I stepped inside while my eyes adjusted to the radiance. I paused and noticed that beside me, just inside the door, sat a large box heaped with various items.
The contents caught my eye because of the value of the assorted items. From where I stood, I could see mounds of career opportunities, house deeds, and framed portraits of beautiful people. Bending over for a better look, I noticed that the items represented peoples and places from around the world: a job opening in Dubai, a villa in France, and a picture of a fresh face from New Zealand.
Curious about this find, I dropped to my knees and began fingering the artifacts. Each was very specific, including names, addresses, and phone numbers. Captivated, I pushed up my sleeves to dig a little deeper.
“What are you doing?” He asked.
I glanced up and saw the Master looking over me pleasantly. His face was approachable with the look a parent would give a very young child. I smiled broadly, glad that He’d caught me in the act of intercession. “I’m looking for something for a friend,” I said proudly.
His face broke into a knowing smile. “You are looking in the wrong place, sweetheart. You have your hand in the rubbish bin. Those are all the things that people set aside to enter into the Kingdom.”
Stunned, I pulled my hands out of the box and laid them limply in my lap.
All-knowing, He turned to a nearby cupboard. “The item you are looking for is here. I know exactly what your friend needs.”
As I stared with wide-open eyes, He drew a jewel-encrusted crown from the shelf. Sparkling and brilliant with an inner fire, the pure gold circlet had peaked spires that rose majestically off the rim. Each pointed finial dazzled with a prong-setting of either emeralds, rubies, or sapphires, and all were encircled by pure white diamonds of brilliant clarity.
My eyes widened in an attempt to take in the full importance of His costly gift. Like Peter on the mount of transfiguration, I stammered to fill the silence. “Can I deliver it now?”
Once again, He smiled. “Your friend’s not quite ready yet. I’ll deliver it at the kairos time.” Then, very gently, He leaned over and took my hands into His. “Let’s get you cleaned up. Digging in the trash, even in the Kingdom, is a little messy.”