There is nothing I like more as a pre-Christmas spiritual lift than a live performance of Handel’s Messiah. So I was elated when the ticket I ordered on line showed up in  my mail on Friday. This would be the first in several years that I’d be able to attend the Toledo symphony’s presentation.

            A day or two passed and something nagged at my mind. Where had I put that cherished ticket? Then I realized I had cleaned up the counter and… No, I wouldn’t have thrown it away… Or did I?

            I opened the drawer that houses the trash bin, and there, under used coffee grounds, was a small stack of junk mail I had recently received. The second item down was the ticket, still in its envelope.

            I am sure that a few coffee stains won’t prevent me from using that ticket at Sunday’s performance. I know I will enjoy the music even more as I contemplate a story of salvation and hope…and a near-loss of opportunity.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”

John 3:16