What's in that Happy Meal, anyway?

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." --Matthew 5:3-9

By now I am guessing you have heard The Big News about Happy Meals. Parents who are upset (dare I say angry?) about McDonald's and their cheap toys tucked innocently into their unhealthy kids' meals. Now, moms can choose, instead, a toy-free meal, and a small donation goes to a children's charity.

There was an ad on TV for these social conscious Happy Meals that showed children looking in the bottom of their Happy Meal box for the toy, practically sticking it on their faces as they looked, and the voice says something like, "Now there's Hope at the bottom of every Happy Meal box!"

Kinda makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, doesn't it?

But seriously. I have a friend who has had myriad health problems, just one thing after another. She has had these times of discouragement, and has said, "I feel like I have lost my little friend Hope." She was really downtrodden.

One evening, she called me, all excited. She told me all about the commercial, about the kids digging in the bottom of the box, and said, "There's Hope in a Happy Meal! There's Hope in a Happy Meal!" We laughed, we cried-- you know how women get. It was one of those moments.

Fast-forward several days. I am going to her house and taking her lunch. She says she wants a burger, fries and a strawberry milk shake. 

In a moment of sheer brilliance, without saying anything to her, I pull into McDonald's and order a hamburger Happy Meal-- with a strawberry milk shake.

"Is that for a little boy or a little girl?" I about burst out laughing when I said a little girl. And the milk shake had whipped cream-- and a cherry!

When I showed up at her door, and she saw the box, it was a half-laugh, half-cry kind of thing. We went inside, and she went straight for the bottom of the box. And there it was: The Toy.

The toy du jour was this little gumball machine where you push the bottom and all the little plastic gumballs pop around like popcorn. Again and again, she pressed the bottom; again and again, the gumballs jumped-- and her face relaxed into laughter. All the pain and anxiety from a hard day of chemo melted away like ice cream on a hot summer day. 

And in the bottom of the box-- right there, next to the toy-- guess what she found?

Hope. 

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Our perfect Hope, our one Redeemer.