Thursday, June 01, 2006

$25.83

We had small group at our house last night and we needed something to eat. My wife was finishing up the last bit of cleaning so she asked me to go to the grocery store to buy something for snacks. I was certainly up for the task because if there is anything I know something about, it's snacks. She did call out that we needed a gallon of milk, but other than that...snacks.
I bought one of those pre-decorated cakes that are at the stores now with icing about an inch thick. We needed some "real" drinks because all we had at home was diet. So, a liter of Coke and a liter of Dr. Pepper. (In the south both of those would have been called "cokes." But up here, it's "pop.") We needed some ice cream to go along with the drinks and cake. So I got a half gallon of low-fat and a half gallon of high fat. It didn't say "high fat," but since it said "low fat," you have to make the assumption. I didn't forget the milk.
So there it was, everything we needed for a feast. I went to check out and the total was $25.83. What's the significance of that? When my wife and I married almost 30 years ago, we had no money. We lived on a shoe string budget. We had $25 a week to get the essentials. It was so tight that we would take a calculator with us to the grocery store and add everything up. If there was a little left over, we could get a "treat." My how times have changed. I spent more on junk last night than we could spend on essentials in one week. I couldn't help but think how good God has been. I know I've written about God's goodness before, but it really came home in a real way last night. Times have changed, I know, but the reality of it is I can afford to do things like that now when I couldn't have 30 years ago. So the question I ask of myself and a question I would like to ask you is, "Am I using what God has given me to His glory?" Praise be to God. Our God is an awesome God. He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power, and love Our God is an awesome God. Amen! Have a great day.

1 comment:

Donna G said...

I remember the days of going to the grocery store with a calculator. Many times I was deciding what to put back.. God has indeed blessed us richly.