The Lesson of the Bag, Days of Thanks - November 27, 2013
Life has been busy and everything that I have planned has not happened. At times that is frustrating, but I am thankful for so much. I will spare you the details of the craziness that is my life (I need to learn to say no), but I wanted to share a little thing that happened yesterday.
Last week I was asked to speak to a group of domestic violence advocates about what to expect when they are called to the ER to assist sexual assault victims. I attempted to coordinate a different time, but the only time that would work with our schedules was yesterday morning. I went ahead and made the appointment early enough in the morning that I could make it to the city to wrap up my Thanksgiving shopping. This year's shopping included searching for a new refrigerator as mine is simply not big enough for 24 at Thanksgiving or for the 14 year old rugby player that I feed on a regular basis. I found the perfect "new to me" refrigerator on my 3rd stop, but had to drive to a different area of town to purchase a filter for it. By about 1:30, I had my refrigerator purchased, the filter purchased, and only had 3 grocery stores, a bakery, Starbucks, and hopefully a quick stop at Michael's left to hit. Oh yes, I hadn't had a bite to eat or a sip to drink all day. Undaunted, I stopped at a deli and grabbed a sandwich, chips, and diet coke, stopping long enough to finish before starting the rest of the list.
It was after 5:00 when I pulled into my last stop - the final grocery store. I rushed to grab all my grocery bags and headed into the store. There was a minor traffic jam inside the door, so I skirted around it and pulled around the corner to arrange those bags, my purse and my shopping guide. It was at that moment that I discovered that I was missing one of my cooler bags. Since I was in a hurry, I decided to hope that it was in the car and forge ahead. I wrapped up my shopping, bagged my groceries (yes you bag your own at that store), and loaded them in my car. The cooler bag was not there. "I guess someone got a new bag", I said to myself as I took my cart to the corral. I passed a second cart corral and rolled into a cylinder and stuck in the corral was my nice blue cooler bag! I literally laughed out loud, causing some other shoppers to look strangely at me. When I explained, one of them said, "It's nice to know there are still good people out there." I completely agree!
As I settled in for my 30+ minute drive home, I had a bit of time to reflect. There are still good people out there. I think many would have just picked up that bag and said "finders, keepers", but they chose to do the right thing. To me though, it is even bigger than that. God chose to give me this little reminder that He cares about the little things too. He had already worked out the big thing when He provided the refrigerator.
Are you seeing God in the little things as well as the big things? I hope so.
Last week I was asked to speak to a group of domestic violence advocates about what to expect when they are called to the ER to assist sexual assault victims. I attempted to coordinate a different time, but the only time that would work with our schedules was yesterday morning. I went ahead and made the appointment early enough in the morning that I could make it to the city to wrap up my Thanksgiving shopping. This year's shopping included searching for a new refrigerator as mine is simply not big enough for 24 at Thanksgiving or for the 14 year old rugby player that I feed on a regular basis. I found the perfect "new to me" refrigerator on my 3rd stop, but had to drive to a different area of town to purchase a filter for it. By about 1:30, I had my refrigerator purchased, the filter purchased, and only had 3 grocery stores, a bakery, Starbucks, and hopefully a quick stop at Michael's left to hit. Oh yes, I hadn't had a bite to eat or a sip to drink all day. Undaunted, I stopped at a deli and grabbed a sandwich, chips, and diet coke, stopping long enough to finish before starting the rest of the list.
It was after 5:00 when I pulled into my last stop - the final grocery store. I rushed to grab all my grocery bags and headed into the store. There was a minor traffic jam inside the door, so I skirted around it and pulled around the corner to arrange those bags, my purse and my shopping guide. It was at that moment that I discovered that I was missing one of my cooler bags. Since I was in a hurry, I decided to hope that it was in the car and forge ahead. I wrapped up my shopping, bagged my groceries (yes you bag your own at that store), and loaded them in my car. The cooler bag was not there. "I guess someone got a new bag", I said to myself as I took my cart to the corral. I passed a second cart corral and rolled into a cylinder and stuck in the corral was my nice blue cooler bag! I literally laughed out loud, causing some other shoppers to look strangely at me. When I explained, one of them said, "It's nice to know there are still good people out there." I completely agree!
As I settled in for my 30+ minute drive home, I had a bit of time to reflect. There are still good people out there. I think many would have just picked up that bag and said "finders, keepers", but they chose to do the right thing. To me though, it is even bigger than that. God chose to give me this little reminder that He cares about the little things too. He had already worked out the big thing when He provided the refrigerator.
Are you seeing God in the little things as well as the big things? I hope so.
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