Mrs. Lee and her husband were blessed with wealth, so they bought a little getaway just south of Gladewater, TX.  She thought it would be nice to plant some flowers there, so she ordered a box of Jonquil Daffodils.

There was a mix-up, however, when they were ordered.   The day of delivery, she received not a box but a boxcar, a railroad boxcar full of daffodil bulbs. 

For you nerd’s, a boxcar has a volume of about 7,300 cubic feet.  Boxes of bulbs can be purchased 100 to a box of 1 cubic foot in size.  Which means Mrs. Lee bought approximately 73,000 individual bulbs at today’s cost of $1,460,000.  An inundation of daffodil bulbs.

She was shocked by the delivery and yet also delighted.  She hired a crew of 40 workers to plant the bulbs.  Fortunately for us, she left her property to East Texans as a legacy – a 4-mile, drive-through trail of dazzling gold.

I recently read her story, and I just had to laugh.  I thought about what it might be like to have Amazon deliver a boxcar full of the coffee we often buy. 

On the other hand, when you really think about it, many of us have had a Mrs. Lee experience.

On that day we were considering Jesus, we said to ourselves, “Yes, I think I’ll have a box of that.”  But what He delivered was a boxcar of blessing. 

When we said yes to Jesus, our sins were expunged, past, present and future – “once for all” says Peter. (1Peter 3:18)

The suffocating blanket of guilt was removed so that Paul could say, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” – Romans 8:1.

That same day we were “born again” (John 3:7) The old broken incapable person that we were, was crucified with Christ and replaced with a new nature that Scripture calls a “new creation” – Galatians 6:15.

We were given a “Helper” at that time, the Holy Spirit who teaches us, guides and directs us, and is instrumental in refining the way we live (John 14:16). 

Jesus removed our insecurities by promising that He would always be with us (Matthew 28:20) and Paul assured us that nothing, absolutely nothing could ever separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).  We are His forever.

The Lord adopted us into His amazing family.  We have people in our lives who are genuine and authentic.  We have nothing to hide because Jesus took care of our disgrace.  They pick us up when we are down and encourage us to strive for our best.

For most, the Lord gives us a spouse and children – and because we have been shaped by His love, we are able to properly and deeply love them and they respond and love us with God’s love. 

He imbues our lives with purpose and meaning.  We are situated on this earth to serve Him and bless others.

Before Jesus we endured life defectively.  Jesus gave what He called “life abundantly” (John 10:10).  This is life that is jam packed with joy.  I personally remember my early days in the faith where each day seemed to be ten times richer than those before. 

We have the guarantee of His temporal care in this life.  Food, drink, shelter clothing – all the essential He pledges to make ours.

Of course, we have the hope of heaven, an eternal blissful existence in the presence of God.

As we drove through Mrs. Lee’s Gardens, I was asked if the bulbs were perennial.  Of course they are!  They have been popping up every spring for well over 70 years now. 

The blessings of God also keep popping up – every year, every month, week to week, daily, moment by moment we have them to enjoy.    

A boxcar of blessing is what we possess.  Like Mrs. Lee, maybe we should make sure that others can enjoy it too!  

PS: The daffodils are currently at their peak at Mrs. Lee’s Garden

A PRAYER: Lord, you overwhelm us with Your goodness. Thank You 

This has been Jim Johnson and pickleheavenpress.com

May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you

Scripture passages are taken from the NETBible®