Come Celebrate With Us

Once upon a time, there was a young lady with her daddy. They were walking on the beach, hand in hand. This was a special day. Daddy had asked the young lady to bring her treasure chest with all of her treasures with her on their walk. Daddy said, "My dear, can we look inside your treasure chest?" "Of course, Daddy," she said. As they opened it and looked inside, they found various pieces of jewelry, several ticket stubs for shows and plays she had attended that were important to her, and a handful of pictures that held special significance to her. On the very bottom of the chest was a key. Daddy said, "May I see this key?" As he took it out of the chest, he explained, "This is the key to your heart. Whoever has it will have access to all of you. Will you let me hold onto it for you for the time being?" "Yes, Daddy. I trust you." Daddy took the key, and instead of placing it securely in his pocket, he threw it as far as he could, into the middle of the ocean. The young lady was distraught. "I thought you were going to take care of the key for me." "That key is exactly where it needs to be. One day there will be a man that is a deep sea diver, ready and willing to search for that key. And that man is worth the wait and you will be a treasure to behold by the time he finds it. My love for you is as deep as that ocean. I have thrown you into the depths of me." "Ok, I will trust you." the young lady and her daddy continued to walk on the beach, a new level of trust has formed between them.

Meanwhile, a deep sea diver was standing on the shore of the ocean. Was he going to get into the boat and go out to the depths? Was it worth it for the treasure he might find? Yes, of course, it was worth it. He put his tank on and took the leap of faith. What he found though, was not treasure, but an octopus! It was ready to attack. He fought it off, but he was running out of oxygen in his tank. He swam back to the boat. The boat driver asked how the dive went. The diver explained about the octopus and said, "I guess I won't find any treasure today. But something is down there. I know it. There is something in this ocean that I am supposed to find. It is almost as if it is calling out to me." So the diver did not give up. He kept searching and looking whenever he had the time. There were more octopuses and a shark or two to contend with, but none of it deterred him. One day, he realized that in order to know where to look, he had to ask someone for help. He reached out to Daddy. He said, "Daddy, I know that I love you, and I want to serve you. Can you help me find this treasure?" Daddy said to the diver, "Yes, my son. I have been waiting for you to ask. Before you can find this treasure, I have to have something of yours." "What is it?" the diver asked. "Your comfort. Everything you are holding back. I need your trust and your unrestrained love. Can you give those things to me?" Daddy asked. "I can. I know it will be hard, but I am willing." "That's all I needed to know," Daddy took the diver to the spot in the ocean where the key was located. On this day, the diver had success. This treasure, the key to the young lady's heart was now his. As he was loving Daddy, he looked around to the others that were loving him too. He saw a young lady and he just had this "knowing" in his heart. The key belonged to her. As he presented the key to her, she knew Daddy was right. He was worth the wait!