A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Airport

The God of the Bible is the God of surprises. Because we are made in His image, it is no wonder that we withhold information from those we love in order to surprise them. 

Since September I have been planning a trip to the States to be with my children and grandchildren during the Christmas season. All but one of my children, Neal, knew I was coming home. Keeping this under wraps for three months involved strategy, secrecy, and, yes, blatant lying at times. I am convinced there are some people who will question my eternal destiny because of what one person called "lies of protection."

Neal drove down to his brother Adam's house after work, arriving at 3:45 a.m on Christmas Eve. He was flying from Chicago to Pittsburgh in about six hours to spend the holidays with his sister, Audrey. Expecting his brother to come out and help him with the luggage, Neal was a little aggravated~but there was a good reason. I was waiting to open the door to surprise him, which I did. After the initial shock of who was standing there in the Santa hat, Neal realized it was a good thing. And I'm sure he started inventorying in his head all the words of diversion and deception that had been relayed since September. Words like, "I wish we could be there with you" and "We can't afford to come home for Christmas" and "What airport are you flying out of?"


Little did Neal know, I was flying with him to Pittsburgh on the same flight, minus his brother, Adam. Or so I thought. But, that's another story.