The Greatest Gift

Tonight was a Wednesday that wasn’t very different from any other Wednesday.  We went to church and on the way home we stopped by Walmart for a few things we needed.  We hurried around the store trying to remember what ingredients we were missing from the recipe we were making on Friday.  It was a slow night at Walmart, I kind of like going at night because you can actually walk around without saying excuse me every few minutes.  My husband and I were in the last isle jokingly debating between each other over whose favorite pizza was better when we saw one store employee run past us.  He wasn’t just jogging, it was a full out sprint!  I thought to myself “Clean up on isle three!”  Then I noticed that someone was crying, it had probably been there for a few minutes but you know how noisy Walmart can be, in the back of my head I just assumed it was a child crying over which cereal they wanted.  I mentioned my concern to my husband and he agreed that something was wrong.

As we rounded the corner we saw two ladies crying loudly over top of another lady who was lying down shaking.  The lady on the ground was someone who I remember seeing a few moments earlier in the cheese section, the section she was still in.  I remember her specifically because she was standing still with a very long cane pointed forward, the cane was so long that I wondered if it may have been a cane for a blind person but then I noticed she wasn’t blind.  Then I my eyes were fixed on the intricate carvings on the  cane.  My grandpa has several beautiful wooden canes and every time I see one I think of him.

I don’t know what happened to that lady but I’ve prayed for her and her family and hope that she’s okay now.  I hated leaving Walmart tonight until I knew she was okay but I felt strange just standing around.  I was comforted to see an ambulance pull up as we were leaving.

I still feel a little weird,  similar to the feeling on 9/11 but on a smaller scale.  It seems the world has slowed down temporarily.  At Walmart I found that I was no longer hungry, I no longer cared about the things on my list, I no longer felt the weight of the burdens I had been carrying all day, nothing else mattered.  All I could think about was the brevity of life and the “hereafter.”  You may have noticed that I’ve talked about God in a few posts and I have Bible verse on my site but do you know what I really believe?  I believe that there is a literal heaven and hell that is waiting for us all and no amount of good works can earn you a spot in heaven.  I believe that we are all sinners and destined for Hell in need of a savior.  I believe that God, creator and designer of this universe, sent His son, His perfect son to Earth to be our sacrifice.  We deserve Hell but God was gracious enough to send His only son, Jesus, to come and die in our place.  Three days after Jesus was crucified He was raised from the dead defeating both sin and death!  We now have a way from Hell to Heaven if we will turn from our sin and trust in Jesus’ work on the cross to save us.  If we do that God will impart Jesus Christ’s righteousness on our behalf and we are freely given eternal life with Him in Heaven!  That is the best freebie ever!

I don’t know why but I really felt the need to share this and I hope each and everyone of you reading this will think about where you would go tonight if you died?  Would you immediately be in Heaven in the presence of God or in Hell?

In summary:

-All have sinned and came short of perfection. Romans 3:10-12

-For the wages (payment) of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23

-By placing our faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross we can be saved. Romans 5:1-2, Romans 3:23-24, John 3:16-17

If anyone ever has any questions regarding God or salvation please feel free to comment or email me because I would love to discuss this truth with you!  I mean that from the bottom of my heart.