I guess most of you know by now how much I enjoy shopping in the Dollar Tree stores. I can definitely say it is one of my favorite places to shop for various items. I may never buy anything but I certainly enjoy looking. Still I think one of the reasons I like it most is watching the interaction that takes place between people there.
A few months back I was in the store looking around. A new shipment must have arrived because there were different items to look at this time. As I was strolling down one aisle, I had the opportunity to witness an amusing incident.
A woman (I suppose somewhere in her 50's) was on the same aisle I was and a younger woman rounded the corner to come down the aisle too. The younger woman seemed to be a little surprised to see the older one. She took a deep breath and said, "Well hi Mama."
The older woman said, "Hi yourself! So you are going to speak to me here in the store? I haven't heard from you in over a month." Uh-oh! That young lady was caught. She said - "I'm sorry Mom," and began to offer all kinds of excuses. The older woman would have none of it ... she never raised her voice .. and she never cursed or used hateful words; but she definitely let her daughter know in no uncertain terms how she felt about the situation.
In one way it was amusing to watch this interaction. The older lady was kind of funny in speaking with her daughter. (Sarcasm can be amusing). She shot down every excuse her daughter offered up. In another way it was kind of sad to think about because you could tell the mother cared deeply for her child.
To be honest, I can identify with both women. As a child, I haven't always been in touch with my parents often enough -- especially in times past. Mom and Dad - if you read this -- I offer my apologies here and now. As a parent, I understand missing hearing from your grown children.
Knowing and understanding these human relationships, and witnessing this incident made me think of our relationship with the Heavenly Father. He is our Perfect Parent and He loves us so much. He gave His Only Son for us and He longs to hear from us. He wants us to be in touch with Him.
Our Father longs to dwell with us. He wants us to visit with Him often. Our lives go so much better when we communicate with Him frequently! We should long for this as much as God does. He promises so much for our lives if we choose to walk with Him -- to obey His word. He wants us to love Him .. to talk to Him ... to talk to others about Him so we can have that abundant life Christ promised us.
Attending worship with our Christian brothers and sisters every time we get a chance is one way to show Him and our Savior Jesus how much we love them. I know God doesn't reside in any church building. But when we only worship Him once or twice a year .. aren't we kind of like the daughter encountering her mother in the Dollar Tree store?
God gave us our very lives and created a most beautiful world for us to live in. Don't you think He deserves our worship? Christ died for our sins so that we would have a direct line to God. When He died Christ tore down the "wall of partition" and gave us direct access to God -- no intermediary priest was necessary. That is part of the liberty of the gospel.
Direct access to God the Father through Jesus the Son is one of the freedoms we enjoy as Christians. It is one of the advantages over the old law. Our liberty is in Christ. Through Him we are able to come to God boldly and confidently -- but humbly and reverently. And God longs for us to talk to Him. He has always longed to be with His people .. to communicate with them ... to have us include Him in our daily lives.
Prayer changes things. God may not always answer them the way we think they should be answered; but even when He doesn't our trust in Him enables us to be at peace with whatever the answer is. Prayer gives us peace .. and strength .. and courage.
I once saw a billboard that said "Faith is the muscle ... prayer is the exercise." Did you know that the word prayer, pray, or prayed is used in the New King James Version of the Bible 392 times? If it is mentioned that many times, prayer should be an important aspect of our lives. I challenge you to build up your spiritual muscles every day!
What I'm saying isn't new but it certainly isn't outdated either. There's another saying about a popular soft drink ... "Things go better with Coke." That may or may not be true. But I can absolutely promise you that "Life goes better with Christ." It always will.
Studying God's Word is another way to be in touch with our Lord. It is another way of visiting with Him. Meditating on His love and His precepts will refresh our spirits and restore our souls. Knowledge of God's word helps us renew our minds daily so we can live the life Christ would have us live rather than our old worldly life.
The awkward situation I witnessed in Dollar Tree ended up being a sweet scene. Mother and daughter still loved each other and a relationship was renewed and strengthened. Seeing that happen was the best part of being in the store that day.
Let's challenge each other to keep in touch with our spiritual Father. Let's do away with our excuses and remember how much He really does love us .... how He longs to be with us....
Live your life with God in it. It will be worth it!!!
Christ above all things,
Robin
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