{"id":26523,"date":"2019-10-01T03:30:20","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T10:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=26523"},"modified":"2019-09-27T13:50:11","modified_gmt":"2019-09-27T20:50:11","slug":"october-1-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2019\/10\/01\/october-1-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"October 1, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cMy rebellion would\u00a0be sealed\u00a0up in\u00a0a\u00a0bag, and you would cover\u00a0over my\u00a0iniquity.\u201d <\/em>Job 14:17<\/p>\n

To Bag or Not to Bag<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Yesterday while out running errands, my husband and I decided to go to one of the more expensive grocery stores in town. We were tired and it was close to home, he is recovering from surgery and I injured myself at the gym the night before, and they would have people to bag the groceries. At that moment, with all those factors, it would be totally worth the extra money. So we pleasantly talked and joked throughout the store, enjoying each other\u2019s company. Until<\/u>, we get up to the check stand and I see a woman at the next one bagging her own groceries, to which I immediately got angry and said, \u201cGreat, we\u2019re paying way more and we\u2019re still going to have to bag our stuff!\u201d<\/p>\n

My husband patted me on the shoulder, not condescendingly but reassuringly, and said, \u201cWait a minute, relax, there is someone bagging the groceries in our lane.\u201d Of course, I immediately felt sheepish and very un-Christlike. I thanked him for pointing that out and asked him to forgive me for being so negative.<\/p>\n

Isn\u2019t it amazing how quickly our attitudes can change when an expectation of ours isn\u2019t met or something happens we don\u2019t think is supposed to? I bet you can guess what happened next\u2026it was our turn in line and the girl who was bagging groceries was gone! I had a choice, I could get angry all over again and stand in line tapping my foot waiting for the checker or someone else to bag the groceries, or I could take a deep breath, put a smile on my face, and bag my own.<\/p>\n

With the help of the Holy Spirit that\u2019s what I did, even when the total was over our budget, even though I was still tired and sore. Were my joy and my testimony worth losing over a decision as small as whether to bag or not to bag groceries? Thankfully, this time it wasn\u2019t, and I pray it won\u2019t be next time either.<\/p>\n

As we took the groceries out to the car we continued to laugh and talk, a far different ending than if I had continued to throw the tantrum I had started at the beginning of our check stand journey. Would God, and my husband, still have loved me? Absolutely! Would they probably both have been a little disappointed in me? Yep\u2014and rightly so.<\/p>\n

\u201cFather God, I\u2019m grateful there was no need for You to seal up my rebellion in a bag (this time), and for the forgiveness You so readily extend. When my next \u201cto bag or not to bag\u201d moment comes up, in whatever area of my life it happens to be, may I put a smile on my face, get over myself, and do what needs to be done. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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