Thursday, October 21, 2010

$42.51

The last four weeks my husband, Braxton, has been teaching a series on Wednesday nights at our church entitled
"Modern Day Servant Hood".

He has challenged the class to think of how they can be servants in the community, to their family and to their church.  I have been helping (just giving him my thoughts) on his series and have enjoyed what he has had to say.  Little did I know that God would "test" my servant hood this week!

Tuesday evening I had a meeting at church after work.  So before the meeting Braxton and I met for dinner with the kids and then he took the kids home.  Once the meeting was over I ran to Wal-mart to pick up a few items.

I was tired...it was 7:45pm when I got to the check out line and I still had heels on my feet!  I got in a line behind a lady and her teenage daughter.  The cashier scanned her groceries and bagged them, and she paid cash for part of the groceries and started to pay the difference with her check card.

The check card failed the first time.  She was shocked that it didn't work and commented that she had just made a deposit that day.  So she tried it again...and it failed. 

At this point I felt a tug at my heart.  I felt that I needed to step in.  I told God,
"if this is you, you will have to do a little bit more tugging if you want me to do something"!

The cashier suggested she try the card as a credit...it failed again.  The lady even showed the guy her deposit ticket with the amount she had deposited!  He then suggested that she try the ATM that was right across from our check out line.

She tried the ATM...it failed again! 

I could feel my heart racing and God speaking to me, telling me to

BE HIS SERVANT!

The mother and daughter started digging through their bags, deciding what they could do without. 

And then I asked the question, "How much is the balance?"  The cashier responded, "$42.51".

"I'LL TAKE CARE OF IT."
Those were my words. 

I swiped my debit card, entered my pin number and smiled at the lady.  She thanked me and walked out of the store with her buggy of groceries.  As she walked out, I told her, "God Bless You".

What did I sacrifice that night?  $42.51?  Are you willing to sacrifice $42.51 to help out someone...to show someone the love of God...to be His servant? 

What did God sacrifice for us? 
He gave His son!  He sent His one and only son to earth so that we could have Everlasting Life!

I don't know who I impacted more.  Was it the lady and her daughter?  Or was it the cashier scanning our groceries?  Or maybe it was the customer standing behind me?  The one thing I hope comes from this is, is that God's love was evident in what I did. 

"Lord, teach us to sacrifice just as you have sacrificed for us!
Teach us to be your servants. 
And teach us to love!"