Reindeer Games

"don't get caught up in their reindeer games"...x

It was late Saturday afternoon, and I was in his kitchen frosting Christmas cookies I had just baked. The daughter of his assistant walked in and asked me if I could remind him about the appointment they had, before they were late. I grabbed a few cookies and some milk and headed into the living room. When I walked in, I saw boxes of what looked like books. I set the cookies and milk down and let him know he had to leave in 15 minutes. “yes dear,” he replied. When I got closer, I saw that he was writing on one of them and said, “Can I have that?” "no," he replied. “Why not?” "because you're getting your own." I thought for a minute and then said, “But I want the one you wrote on.” He looked at me, smiled, rolled his eyes, and shook his head. He knows I like to keep everything he writes on.

I went back into the kitchen to finish frosting the cookies. A few minutes later, he called out my name. I returned to the living room. "hey, could you pray for me before this meeting? it's really important, and pray for my headache too." I put my hand on his head and began to pray. I felt something in his hair but waited until I finished. I said, “What's in your hair?” I ran my fingers through his hair and realized it was frosting from the cookies I had baked. 

"Of course, there's frosting in your hair. Sweet glory, your feathers are frosted... this meeting is going to go in your favor."

 

"haha, very funny. "hey, i need you to run to the store while I'm gone and wrap the rest of these."

"Sure, is there a specific type or color of wrapping paper you'd like?" 

"yes, reindeer and trees."

I went to the kitchen to clean up after baking. Shortly after, the assistant's son came into the kitchen and sat on the barstool, eating strawberry pretzels as we talked about the kids. He then asked me if I wanted to drive x's car to the store to get the wrapping paper, as he pulled out a key that was in a lockbox. I said, "No way, but I'd love to see it." We then headed out to the garage to take a look at his new car.

Once out in the garage, we found a group of people playing poker. I noticed a few girls in the corner who caught my attention, they started whispering and giving me dirty looks. I also saw an elderly gentleman who had dropped a significant amount of cash without noticing. I approached him to let him know and picked up his cash, which was about $300.00 and handed it to him. He was pleasantly surprised and thanked me for my honesty. After looking at his car, I said to the assistant's son, "I'm so happy to see you; I can't believe it's been six years. He hugged me and then I asked, "Do you want me to pick up some avocados while I'm out?" We both started laughing at this inside joke.

As I drove, I thought about the people in the garage and I asked God, "Was that a test that I just passed?"

"As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You."

After returning, I found the place empty, so I wrapped all the gifts and placed them under the tree. I put on worship music, prayed and anointed his windows and doors with oil, as I often do. I then went to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate and went to admire the beautiful Christmas tree. I pondered what x had said earlier, 'don't get caught up in their reindeer games.' 

You see, we often get sidetracked by others and the games they play. Sometimes, it's just a test that we need to pass. We must navigate past all the chaos, the slander, cyber bullying and the jealousy. We need to rise above the drama. If we're not careful, we'll get entangled in battles or carry unnecessary burdens that we were never meant to carry. It's all a distraction from the enemy to exhaust us and stir us off the path to our destiny. We need to shut it down and silence the voices. Turn a deaf ear to all the negativity and the devil's schemes. We must yield to the Holy Spirit.

As 9:00 approached and he still hadn't returned, I grabbed a blanket and went to lay down on the couch. I gazed into the fireplace, thanking God for this moment. I never take for granted the time spent in His presence, treasuring the quietness, safety and peace.

I dozed off for a brief period and had a vivid dream. I could hear his song playing as I found myself in a snowy landscape, where two reindeer approached me. Their eyes began to transform colors, from gold to a radiant blue. The first reindeer said, "Your eyes are like mine, they are sensitive to the spiritual realm causing them to change color.” The second reindeer said, "Your nose is like mine, when you inhale the coldness it activates the heat to keep you warm inside." Your presence is an activation key… you were born to unlock kings."

Both reindeer instructed me to use these gifts to decode patterns, dreams, numbers and time. They also stated that something was about to validate the dream.

As I gradually awoke to the sound of his piano playing, his song still lingered in my mind. I sat up and said to him, "Your song keeps echoing in my sleep. It's melting my heart. I pray that you will release it so the world can experience the beauty... but you do know I'm singing it, ‘O my dove’ instead of "Oh my love," haha

He smiled and said, "you were right about the meeting." “Yay, Praise God. I'm so excited. This is going to be your year.'” “our year," he replied.

"Come here." I got up to go sit next to him on the piano bench. I noticed there was a wrapped gift on the piano, but I didn't give it much thought. He started playfully singing, “you know dasher and dancer and prancer and vixen, comet and cupid and donner and blitzen... open the gift.” I opened the gift and noticed the box was from Temple St. Clair, inside was a reindeer bracelet engraved with 'Dancer.'

"you'll always be my favorite dancer," he said. I cried as he hugged me and kissed me on the forehead and responded,  “And you'll always be my favorite singer. Thank you for this beautiful gift."

“Will you sing me a song from Zion?” He began to anoint the keys with his fingers and started to sing, Psalm 42 ‘As the deer.’ I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I could feel the intense heat in my belly as we began to worship.

You alone are my heart's desire

and I long to worship Thee

You alone are my strength, my shield

to You alone may my spirit yield

I was deeply moved by the beauty of this masterpiece. As I opened my eyes, I could see the face of the deer in his Christmas tree, staring back at me. The experience was truly breathtaking, and I felt so grateful for this majestic evening in His presence.

As the Deer ~ Shane & Shane