Devotionals

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LETS GO SHOPPING

It's the holiday season, time to shop till you drop. First trip is to the toy store, bring your kids to help and let them go wild, picking out anything they would want. Cute cuddly bears, dogs, and cats, stuffed animals to snuggle up to at night and be comforted by, educational toys to divert attention from the daily routine, fun toys that teach togetherness, interactive toys, sport toys, CD players to listen to good audio books, oh, yeah, get some audio books while you're at it. Don't pass the roller blades, they'll get the kids out of the house for hours, good exercise for detouring obesity, along with the skate boards a must for every kid. Get it all to the cash register and pack in in the trunk, real good and secure. Then it's off to the mall.

Tons of warm socks, mittens, hats, scarves, and flannel PJ’s with Scotty dogs running across the borders, to lighten the mood and warm old digits. So much to buy, so much catches the eye. We need to get it all, books with large print, magnifying glasses- for the regular print books, and look at all the radio CD players, gadgets and gimmicks, and just plain old decks of cards. Lotions and potions to soothe and pamper dry, wrinkled skin. Go to the check out counter and don't flinch at the cost.

Last stop, the grocery store. Fill the cart up with pie fillings, and pie crusts, canned meats; sugar plums are a must. Cranberry sauces, stuffing mixes; things to fix in a jiff. Things for kids, snacks and treats, fruit galore, and don't forget nuts, they're so good for you. Don't leave anything off the list, use two carts if you must. Get things to stuff in the stockings that will be hung by the chimney with care. You may finally need to use your credit card here, just sign the receipt and get out before you think of something else to buy.

Now our shopping is done, but before we go home to our family gathering: our good hot meals, and soft cozy beds, we have three more stops to make. The first is to Toys for Tots to unload a third of the trunk. These toys are for children in foster care and hospitals. The stuffed animals will go to a toddler who has been abused yet still misses his mom. The CD player will go to a teenage girl living with her mom in the women's shelter, along with her other Christmas wish, the Bible on CD. The football gear will go to a young boy whose father was sent to jail for breaking an entering, thank heavens he's in the big brother program, hopefully junior will have a better male role model.

The next stop will be the salvation army to donate gifts for long term residences, women's havens and homeless shelters. The scarves will go to a ninety year old lady who still remembers her mother was born on a ship immigrating to America, she has seen her whole family pass on. The flannel PJ’s will go to a young man of eighty with Parkinson’s and a daughter who spends his money and doesn't make payments to the nursing facility, they're having to consider dismissing him. The mittens will warm many cold arthritic fingers this winter, but senior citizens are known to wear mittens through out the year!!! The socks will go to the homeless shelters, filled with essentials: toothpaste, deodorants, soaps and cards and other treats donated by good people.

The final stop is at the food bank, that fills a great many pantries. Those coming to the soup kitchens these season haven't been eating well throughout the year. They'll bag some food stuff up for the young mother of three whose husband was killed by a drunken driver. Some more groceries will go to the schools to feed children whose parents don't make enough money working two jobs to keep the table adequately supplied because the cost of health insurance doesn't cover all the treatment for their youngest child's leukemia. They've already had to sell their house and most of their possessions to finance the care, the doctor, refuses to take his co-pay, settling only for the insurance re-imbursement! There are a few kind hearted doctors out there, some actually went in for patient care, not to buy Mercedes!

Now, home at last, worn out from a day of fast and furious shopping, you can sit to eat. In the house where domestic violence has been held at bay, your husband is home and sitting in the arm chair reading a magazine, (Guideposts, not Playboy); the kids, healthy and happy, all gather around the turkey to hear the blessing. ”Thank you lord, for our health that lets us shop; our abundance you give us to share. Thanks for giving us bread to spread on the waters, and the heart to return the love you have given us to others in need. Thanks for caring, dear Lord about all the sparrows that have fallen and giving us the opportunity to pick them up."

Look closely at the baby lying in the manager over the fireplace, if you're observant you might see a tear roll down his cheek even as he smiles.



Prov. 28:27
Eccl 11:1-2
2 Cor 8:13-15
Gal 2:10

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