Reminder


 

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

There are few things in this world of which I am absolutely certain. One of those is that I am saved by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Another is that He in His infinite kindness has blessed me with a wonderful husband.  My husband is not perfect and I can assure you that his wife is not either. We are great together and as I said, that is a huge blessing. I am thankful to need very few reminders of how blessed I am to have that man in my life, so it was extra heartbreaking for me when I watched a sad scene unfold in the grocery store yesterday.

          As I entered the checkout line the man in front of me, next in line, with his things sitting right next to the cashier, went to stand a few feet away. Given that we are still in pandemic mode, I checked my position. No, I hadn’t gotten too close. As I was wondering why he moved, the explanation rolled up, a woman in one of those scooter deals.

          Her husband stood bagging their groceries and apparently there was a mix up about the payment method. The wife had headed to the car but had to return to fix the problem. They were not kind to each other, both were a bit snappy  but the husband was the worst. He bit her head off every time she spoke. She wheeled away again and the gentleman in front of me returned to the line. He looked at Cranky, who was just rolling his cart away and said, “You should be thankful you have a wife.”

          Right there I felt my heart break. That poor man! To speak that way to a stranger, I thought, his pain must be deep enough, and maybe even new enough that he just couldn’t help himself.  He also made an excellent point.

          How often do we snap at those people closest to us? Or ignore them? Or just simply take them for granted? My spouse, child, parent, grandparent, friend will be there next week. Will they?

          What about our stuff? Is it a given that we have a home? Food? Clothes? What about our freedom? I live in a military town which makes me more aware that our freedom is not free. I’m a Christian which is an even bigger reminder that my freedom and salvation come at a huge cost, not to me, but to Jesus my Savior.

          I hated being a witness to those two people being so rude and cruel to each other. I hated much more hearing the pain in the voice of the other observer but I am grateful to all of them. They were reminders to me to look at my life and say THANK YOU, JESUS!

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