I’m Going Special Delivery, According To Plan
by Kevin Burton
A beep baseball memory from 17 years ago came back to me recently.
During the first-ever game for the Wichita Sonics team I started in 2009, playing against visiting St. Louis.
We took a big lead, shouting multiple “So-nic BOOM!” cheers. Between plays, one of the players on the bench said, “It’s all coming into place.”
Everything I had told the players, who were almost all raw rookies, was now turning from theory to reality. This beep baseball thing was now something tangible, something you could sink your spirit into.
Sonic boom indeed.
That’s the way I feel now. It’s all falling into place.
It has been six months since my mother died. My accumulated thoughts, reflections and feelings since then are impossible to wrestle down into words. But every day somebody’s mother dies. Some of you have been through this.
If you know, you know.
Now another memory, this one from childhood. Evie Karlsson, known professionally as Evie, was one of the first Christian recording artists I began to listen to in the late 70s. One of my many favorite songs of hers is called “Special Delivery.”
The song explains who Jesus is, why He came and what he did. In the last verse Evie tells us what is in store for her as a result of what Jesus did.
Because I can’t say it any better than she did, I will just include the song lyrics:
Special Delivery – Evie
“Never was anyone like Him
Never will one be the same
A tiny Babe, an infant king, Savior
We worship and honor the power of His name
[Chorus]
Oh He came special delivery
Wrapped up in love
Bound by a promise, sealed by a Dove
And filled with the Spirit, carried by grace
You knew where He was goin’ by the look on His face
Where He went love was there also
Where He was love showed the way
Those who saw knew He was Holy
And I see what they saw to this very day
[Chorus]
Oh He came special delivery
Wrapped up in love
Bound by a promise, sealed by a Dove
And filled with the Spirit, carried by grace
You knew where He was goin’ by the look on His face
And when I’m called I will go gladly
I will not grieve for the past
For I know where I’ll be going
And I will be going to see Him at last
I’m goin’ special delivery, wrapped up in love
Bound by a promise, sealed by a Dove
And filled with the Spirit, carried by grace
You know where I am goin’, by the look on my face”
That’s it boys and girls. It’s all falling into place.
My mother set an example for me when I was a raw spiritual rookie. She did her best to guide, as I did as a beep baseball coach, not perfectly, but with love and the very best of intentions.
And now that she is gone, Heaven is a lot more real to me. Every day Heaven is turning from theory to reality. This Christian life thing is now much more tangible, something I can sink my spirit into.
This world became increasingly alien to Mom and I can see and feel that happening for me. It’s a gradual thing. It’s bitter, and it’s sweet, with the bitter receding, slowly, slowly.
And so I think anyway, that my final metaphorical change-of-address card, will not be tear-stained.
“I’m going special delivery, wrapped up in love, bound by a promise, sealed by a Dove and filled with the Spirit, carried by grace, You know where I am going by the look on my face.”
