12-19-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
December 19, 2023
Some of our church Elders agreed to write Etchings for this week, and they were to begin today. But I pushed them back one day because I needed to tell you a story—a sort of Christmas Story. Yesterday, I went by the grocery store to grab a few items and a couple of gift cards (each worth $50) for stocking stuffers. Yes, I am pinch-hitting for Santa on this one. Please don’t say anything. I waited in line to check out, paid for my groceries, and then headed home, looking forward to dinner with my family. I got home with two small bags of groceries, only to discover I did not have my gift cards. I immediately jumped back in the car with my receipt, including the specific gift card receipt. I went to the cashier who checked me out, and initially she looked a little confused, and then I could tell that she was trying to remember what had occurred. The cards were nowhere to be found. The manager got involved, and he wanted to pull up the security camera, so I stood there for about 30 minutes. The young woman at customer service who was helping me had to move on to other customers while we were waiting, but then I noticed that she had received a phone call. She hung up and said that might have been a solution to our problem, but she wasn’t absolutely sure. About 20 minutes later, the man who had checked out behind me walked into the store. I remember noticing that he was with his young boy, who was sort of into everything, as we were waiting in line. The father looked a little frazzled, as most of us do at this time of the year. After I had checked out, I guess the cashier, who still had my gift cards, handed them to him. He didn’t pay much attention, thinking they were just some kind of promotion. It wasn’t until he got home and looked at them more closely that he realized what they were. He had $100 in gift cards that were technically his. But he brought them back to the store and immediately recognized me as the customer ahead of him. His name is Matt, and though I’m not too sure if I’ll ever meet Matt again, his act of kindness announced the essence of Christmas for me. I would have hated to lose the $100, but for my family, we would have still paid all of our bills. I thanked Matt numerous times, but as I walked to my car, I felt as if I did not do enough. I am pretty sure that Matt was just doing the right thing and not expecting anything in return, but I sort of feel the need to share that same kindness with someone else. I’m not too sure where or when, but I hope I’m not too flustered with all that is happening right now to miss an opportunity to do the right thing, to show the same kindness, that helped remind a minister that this world is still overwhelmingly good and kind. Not that I had lost hope, but the Matt’s of this world help to reinforce that the essence of Christmas is still very much alive. Thanks, Matt!

Lord God, for all the good people in this world who may not think of their little gesture as all that significant, I offer my gratitude and pray that I might do the same for someone else. Amen.