"I See Jesus!"

As I lay here trying to fall asleep, I am struck by a few things. I just finished watching the Hallmark movie titled, "The Note." Very sweet story of a columnist who tries to find the person to whom a note was written in the last few minutes before a plane crashed. Now I am a sucker for Hallmark movies. Especially the ones that come out during the Christmas holidays. This one struck a deep chord with me though. Really got me thinking about a lot of things.

First, this widowed columnist is about to lose her job/column if she doesn't bring in more readers by Christmas. Just as she is receiving this information, they learn that a plane has just crashed in the river. Her first thoughts were that it really puts everything into perspective. So many families just lost loved ones and didn't know it was coming. Could happen to any of us. Then as she sits by the water processing through it all and remembering deeply hidden pains of her own, she finds a note folded and in a zip lock bag containing cookie crumbs - right next to a piece of a life jacket that was from the crash. She sets out to find the proper recipient for this note. Hang with me here. I know it is just a movie, but so much can be taken from these stories!

As the story progresses, she finds three potential people (the letter was only addressed to "T" so the list became a short list quickly). As she visits each one she discovers something about herself and is able to not only be a ear for the person she is visiting, but is also to open up and let go of a tiny little piece of herself. Things that have been bottled up inside for years. It turns out her husband was killed in an accident while she was pregnant, went through a deep depression and tried to take her life - while pregnant. She ended up having a baby girl and after social services took her (because of her illness at the time and not being able to care for her), her father talked her into giving her up for adoption. She never knew what happened to her daughter, never looked for her and seemingly never really thought about it - at least on the surface. Well, I am sure you know where this is going. Come on! It's Hallmark! Just as the columnist was about to "get scooped" by a national television station, a young girl came to her and told her the note was for her. After showing her a sample of her father's handwriting she not only had proof that she was the true recipient of the note, but it turns out that this was the columnist's daughter too.

So here is why I can't stop my brain from turning. yes, this is "just a movie." But is it? Think about it. This could totally happen! Because God is THAT big. Each step was planed out and ordained by God. He is the one who causes people's paths to cross when they do and He is the one who plans each step. He is purposeful, meticulous, detail-oriented, and just subtle enough (sometimes) that you can hardly believe what just happened. I started thinking about stories I have heard over the past few months where people have discovered family they never knew existed. There was one story I think I wrote about this summer about the 70-something year-old woman who just discovered she had siblings. God has a way of bringing things and people full circle. Sometimes we don't even realize it is right in front of us.

So now you are maybe wondering about the title of this post. The girls have been very excited about the Manger scenes this Christmas season, always looking for baby Jesus. Amanda always gets so excited that she shouts, "I see Jesus!" Now that people are taking down the decorations, she still remembers where she saw Jesus. As we were driving today Amanda shouted from the back seat, "Mommy! I see Jesus!" You know what? She did see Jesus. And she sees Him all the time. He is everywhere. If we could only have that mindset all the time. To know His presence with us and around us all the time. What a great reminder for me. For us. To just "see Jesus."