The Mall
There may be no scarier place than a Mall – for a man. Now up the difficulty factor the way you would a hunt for some dangerous animal in the middle of Africa – make that Mall experience, Boxing Day just after Christmas and you will see scary written all over his face.
Yesterday I was in a Belleville, Ontario Mall for almost two hours. There was pushing and shoving and struggling to get to clothes racks. The place was hot and people were trying to smile – a little.
When the mother returned to her husband and little girls from behind a rack of coats and asked, “What do you think?” – the look in his eyes registered words he had spoken about 6 years before, “for better or for worse, in sickness and in health…” His daughters just stared at mommy. I couldn’t be sure what they were thinking. They were in training for the hunting/gathering years in the future. The sales lady pushed between myself and this little family to hold up another coat for the young mom to try on. The little girls looked at each other…
My wife was at the second rack over bobbing and pulling at coats. I pushed through and asked, “What do you think? Did you find anything?” She said, “No… this one is really nice but it doesn’t fit… this one is not bad… and this one I don’t like and it does fit. What do you think?” I had just heard the same words two racks over. I grinned and smiled… and weakly said, “Whatever you think..” The coats went back on to the racks where they came from and we walked out.
I think the other fellow standing with his two daughters glanced with envy at me as I clicked my heals together.
To console my wife I squeezed her hand and said, “They lost the pattern for you after you were made.” She just looked at me. So I stuttered, “That was suppose to be a compliment.”
The electronic games store was fun. I didn’t need anymore games but “just looking” was fun. As I entered the store the smell of lots of people was everywhere. Few were smiling and all were lined up to the back of the store – 35 of them! They were all sizes and genders. I had no idea that many people played computer games. As I browsed the shelves I asked a nearby sales person what the prices were… “This kind is two for $22 and this kind is two for $39… they all have been previously played.” Hummm…Let’s see… Blood, Guts and Gore… Silly Sally… and Stupid Larry categories are now left. I don’t think either my grand kids or daughters would like the ones that were there. Move on… The gasp of fresh Mall air filled my lungs as I spilled into the rushing traffic by the games store.
Within 10 minutes we had made it to the Mall doors that spilled out into the parking lot and breathed the cool winter air – Thank you God for clean air! I realized that most of the air in the mall had been re-breathed by those faithful patrons many times over! No wonder the poor trapped sales people were slightly gray and needed out.
There is something about doing a kind of remote CPR on 5000 people that gets to me… yikes I had no idea how many germs my lungs were battling at that moment.
As we walked to the car I glanced at Future Shop – across the way… it was 3:00 PM and the people were still lined up outside 15 deep! The door kept opening and men with coloured shirts were wheeling out these humungous television sets that would need a house expansion to place them in the living room. But maybe they were buying them for the garage – who knows. Someone told me later the deal was $1000 off the original price of $3500.
As I drove home… I had many thoughts flood my head. Why would anyone need that big a television? Where would I put one if I bought one? Where would I find the time to watch enough television to make it seem reasonable to pay $2500 let alone $3500. That is the price of my old van now. What did everyone buy today? So much stuff – so much.
We bought some batteries and two games for a birthday coming up.
My wife looked at me as we drove home and said, “That was fun.” I looked back at her and said with all my heart, “I love you…” Then I saw the young dad’s face again as he looked at me walking from the store…kind of a flash by…
The drive home was a little over one and a half hours to Peterborough. I sorted through what I felt and had seen. Some scriptures came floating to the surface of my thoughts…
Luke 10:3-5
3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 "When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.'
(NIV)
Luke 12:21-31
21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.
23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!
25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!
29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.
30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.
31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
(NIV)
“But God… the Lilies would look so much better on the large screen TV as I consider them… and I will take the old TV to the Salvation Army’s Good Will Store!”
“What’s that God…? You are not convinced? What’s that God…? You mean that I should work at the Good Will as A VOLUNTEER? Really? You mean instead of watching TV… you want me to volunteer?.... Okay… Okay…”
~ Pastor Murray ~
(PS.. Guys... fellow man-beings...I DO NOT NORMALLY DRIVE one hour and half to shop in Malls. We took a friend of ours for a Christmas visit with his family in the area – and we were killing time. Honest guys… honest!)
Yesterday I was in a Belleville, Ontario Mall for almost two hours. There was pushing and shoving and struggling to get to clothes racks. The place was hot and people were trying to smile – a little.
When the mother returned to her husband and little girls from behind a rack of coats and asked, “What do you think?” – the look in his eyes registered words he had spoken about 6 years before, “for better or for worse, in sickness and in health…” His daughters just stared at mommy. I couldn’t be sure what they were thinking. They were in training for the hunting/gathering years in the future. The sales lady pushed between myself and this little family to hold up another coat for the young mom to try on. The little girls looked at each other…
My wife was at the second rack over bobbing and pulling at coats. I pushed through and asked, “What do you think? Did you find anything?” She said, “No… this one is really nice but it doesn’t fit… this one is not bad… and this one I don’t like and it does fit. What do you think?” I had just heard the same words two racks over. I grinned and smiled… and weakly said, “Whatever you think..” The coats went back on to the racks where they came from and we walked out.
I think the other fellow standing with his two daughters glanced with envy at me as I clicked my heals together.
To console my wife I squeezed her hand and said, “They lost the pattern for you after you were made.” She just looked at me. So I stuttered, “That was suppose to be a compliment.”
The electronic games store was fun. I didn’t need anymore games but “just looking” was fun. As I entered the store the smell of lots of people was everywhere. Few were smiling and all were lined up to the back of the store – 35 of them! They were all sizes and genders. I had no idea that many people played computer games. As I browsed the shelves I asked a nearby sales person what the prices were… “This kind is two for $22 and this kind is two for $39… they all have been previously played.” Hummm…Let’s see… Blood, Guts and Gore… Silly Sally… and Stupid Larry categories are now left. I don’t think either my grand kids or daughters would like the ones that were there. Move on… The gasp of fresh Mall air filled my lungs as I spilled into the rushing traffic by the games store.
Within 10 minutes we had made it to the Mall doors that spilled out into the parking lot and breathed the cool winter air – Thank you God for clean air! I realized that most of the air in the mall had been re-breathed by those faithful patrons many times over! No wonder the poor trapped sales people were slightly gray and needed out.
There is something about doing a kind of remote CPR on 5000 people that gets to me… yikes I had no idea how many germs my lungs were battling at that moment.
As we walked to the car I glanced at Future Shop – across the way… it was 3:00 PM and the people were still lined up outside 15 deep! The door kept opening and men with coloured shirts were wheeling out these humungous television sets that would need a house expansion to place them in the living room. But maybe they were buying them for the garage – who knows. Someone told me later the deal was $1000 off the original price of $3500.
As I drove home… I had many thoughts flood my head. Why would anyone need that big a television? Where would I put one if I bought one? Where would I find the time to watch enough television to make it seem reasonable to pay $2500 let alone $3500. That is the price of my old van now. What did everyone buy today? So much stuff – so much.
We bought some batteries and two games for a birthday coming up.
My wife looked at me as we drove home and said, “That was fun.” I looked back at her and said with all my heart, “I love you…” Then I saw the young dad’s face again as he looked at me walking from the store…kind of a flash by…
The drive home was a little over one and a half hours to Peterborough. I sorted through what I felt and had seen. Some scriptures came floating to the surface of my thoughts…
Luke 10:3-5
3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 "When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.'
(NIV)
Luke 12:21-31
21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.
23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!
25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!
29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.
30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.
31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
(NIV)
“But God… the Lilies would look so much better on the large screen TV as I consider them… and I will take the old TV to the Salvation Army’s Good Will Store!”
“What’s that God…? You are not convinced? What’s that God…? You mean that I should work at the Good Will as A VOLUNTEER? Really? You mean instead of watching TV… you want me to volunteer?.... Okay… Okay…”
~ Pastor Murray ~
(PS.. Guys... fellow man-beings...I DO NOT NORMALLY DRIVE one hour and half to shop in Malls. We took a friend of ours for a Christmas visit with his family in the area – and we were killing time. Honest guys… honest!)
posted by Murray Lincoln at
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home