Think On These Things

The Grocery List

I went to the grocery store for a few items on Thursday. Coffee, foil, and "something for dinner" was all that was written on the actual list. Entering the store, I grabbed one of the handheld baskets. I went to get a newspaper, but all they had was Wednesday’s paper. They even had a few issues from Tuesday, and some from Sunday. But no Thursday paper. I began to think that I was wrong and it was actually still Wednesday.

When I decided that I was not out of my mind, I proceeded to the task at hand. On the way to the coffee/tea aisle I ran across some things that were on sale that would be handy for dinners. In a few minutes time I had filled the basket to capacity and still had other things on my growing mental list. I decided I needed a larger basket. Although I’ve been known to risk dropping a few things to prove that I do not need to get a larger basket.

After the basket switch, I headed for the items I had thought of while they were still fresh on my mind. Things to go with what I had found on sale. Of course there were other things I thought of along the way. As well as other items that were on sale, making it a good time to stock up. At a certain point I called it quits and headed for the checkout counters. I was running out of steam. Dinner still needed to be fixed when I got home.

I had just over fifteen items but the express lane cashier was standing and staring off into space. I asked if he minded checking me out. He said "sure," he needed the practice anyway. As I headed to the car the rain that had begun when I arrived had ceased. I transferred the groceries from the basket to the car, put the basket away in its parking lot pen, and sat down in the driver’s seat to start the car. That’s when I remembered the foil. The only other thing written on the list other than coffee.

I thought for a moment about putting it off and buying foil another time. But I needed foil to cook what I had picked out for dinner. So I made the trek back across the parking lot and into the store. A few minutes later, after going through the whole process again - except going through self-checkout this time - I was headed to the car for the second time.

As I was driving home, it occurred to me that too often many of us find ourselves with armfuls of stuff while not getting what we came for or need. That also applies to other areas of our lives. We are paying so much attention to what is being called to our attention that we do not keep our minds on track. The old story about going downstairs to get the mail and doing a myriad of other things while still not getting the mail that referred to getting older no longer applies to age. Our sons cannot keep a thought from one room to the other.

Getting extra is not necessarily a bad thing, but we need to stick with the list. If we stick with the list, often everything else will follow. Be the list the commandments, moral laws, to do lists, or grocery lists. If we follow the commandments, the moral laws will follow naturally, being part and parcel of each other. Sticking to those lists will make it easier to focus on goals which will aid in the making of to do lists. Taking care of ourselves - the bodies God gave us - is guided by the previous lists and permeates the planning of grocery lists. Stick to the list.

Peace be with you.

Being "Between Holes"

During all the activities of the past few weeks - Holy Week the same week as spring break, three teenagers and all related activities, work and other duties - I began to notice that I keep adjusting my belt. It is not due to a major shift in my weight. I weigh about five pounds less than I weighed in high school (which drives Cyndy nuts). And I am way past high school. It is due to, as the Monty Python crew would say, something completely different.

When I buy a belt, it fits snugly. Maybe right after my jeans have been washed, the belt might feel a little loose, but when my jeans work back out, it fits fine again. Inevitably, at some point in time, I begin to notice that I need to tighten up the belt a little. But sure enough, when I try to tighten it, I find that I cannot. I find I am once again in my personal twilight zone of being "between holes."

When I bought the belt I had a two hole leeway. Both worked okay, but one a little better. Where did that leeway go? Okay, the belt is leather and leather will flex a bit after time - I get that. And jeans tighten and loosen - I get that, too. But the holes are the same distance apart they always were - within a fraction of an inch. And although I am at the age that my body is beginning to shift, it has not as yet affected my waist.

It is not a recent occurrence. The situation is the same with our son’s belts - when they wear them. Many times I have taken out my pocket knife and fashioned a new hole in a belt. But that is only a temporary solution and does not work for any thing close to a formal event. And, unlike the original holes, it tends to grow, sometimes splitting the belt in the middle to the next original hole or simply splitting it in half.

Unfortunately, it is not a problem for which I think there will be a solution. But it did - as everything does - get me to thinking. About the times in our lives when we find ourselves between holes. We receive life with all the right holes - with a two hole leeway. We keep going back and forth between one hole and another. Because we do not keep on a steady path, the leather stretches, the jeans flex, and we find we need another hole. Which we try to make ourselves. But the holes we make are inferior to the original holes and do not stand up to use and wear.

The between hole theory can apply to our bodies, the planet, and our faith. We take what we are given, as perfect as it can be, and flex it, stretch it, use it, and abuse it until we suddenly find ourselves between holes. Then we think we can solve it on our own. We make another hole. But our solutions are only temporary and usually to not stand the test of time.

We need to work within the boundaries of what we were originally given. Stay within limits and follow the path as we know we ought to. Listen to the Lord when he speaks to us, and have "a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith."

Peace be with you.