There’s a commemorative day coming up that makes me smile—July 18 is National Candy Day. What’s the connection to the military? Let me explain.
One of the things I loved to do for our enlisted son when he was deployed overseas was to send him packages. I put a lot of time and energy in what went into these boxes. I went from store to store and sometimes online to find all his favorite things—cookies, gum, books, music, DVDs and, of course, candy.
As his preferences changed, it wasn’t unusual to get an email or phone call requesting something different. His taste in cookies and gum shifted fairly often. But he was rock-solid consistent in the type of candy he liked best, always some kind of sour candy.
So I became a master at scouting out new kinds of sour candy to send. I developed radar for spotting it in the unlikeliest of places.
What was behind all this effort? I wanted to show him in a real and tangible way—how much he was loved and how much his family cared about him. I also wanted to make sure he never felt like we had forgotten him.
After I discovered this sour candy holiday, it occurred to me that God does that with us. He knows the things that bring us joy. He has our list of favorites memorized, and He’s good about leaving small blessings for us as we travel through life.
He wants to show us—in real and tangible ways—just how much we are loved and how much He cares about us. And He never wants us to feel like we’re forgotten.
