Free Stuff (11/13/2023)

Saturday was Veteran’s Day, and my husband is a vet. He served in the US Army during the Vietnam War. He hates to go to the grocery store, but I was able to convince him to go on Saturday because the Market was giving away free things to the vets. I explained that I was not a vet, and that if he wanted to take advantage of the freebees, he’d need to personally appear. So, we went shopping! He couldn’t believe it when he got there. He got a 12 pack of soda, a pound of coffee, two bags of chips, a supreme pizza, a loaf of artisan bread and a Snapple drink. And I swear he was taller when as we walked our “non-purchases” to the car.

That experience and the recognition of the Market is one of my favorites for this year. It was one of the few times in my husband’s life when the sacrifices he made for us all mattered.

I’m sure you’d not be surprised to learn that it got me to thinking. First I pondered the need to recognize the sacrifices of others in our lives: our family’s, our friends, our teachers, our neighbors, and of course, our LORD’s. I gave thanks that day for the sacrifices of others along my way. And then I spent some time giving heartfelt thanks to Christ for the sacrifice He made for me and for all of us.

Then I pondered the “free stuff” in my life that I either take for granted or fail to claim: blessings in abundance, my very life, grace, the love of others, my freedom, and the list goes on. As I pondered that, I prayed for eyes that see and a heart that feels so that I might be not only more receptive to the gifts of the LORD and others but also more willing to do what I can to claim them and use them, especially the gifts of the LORD. I prayed for a transformation of my soul.

Perhaps it is our modern skepticism that makes us leery to the point of non-responsiveness, but the LORD has always and will always provide the most essential elements of our existence. That isn’t the issue. It’s whether or not we believe, and in our belief, open ourselves to these gifts and to the all-present and all-loving LORD. This day, I pray that we all open ourselves to the transformative love of the LORD, the gifts of the Spirit, the call to live into the ones we are created to be.

Free stuff. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that?

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.