Highway 10/20

Grace and Groceries Seems a fellow is doing some shopping at a commissary on a military base. Doesn’t need much, just some coffee and a loaf of bread. He is standing in line at the checkout stand. Behind him is a woman with a full cart. Her basket overflows with groceries, clothing, and a VCR. At his turn he steps up to the register. The clerk invites him to draw a piece of paper out of the fishbowl. “If you pull out the correct slip, then all your groceries are free,” the clerk explains. “How many ‘correct slips’ are there?” asks the buyer. “Only one.” The bowl is full so the chances are slim, but the fellow tries anyway, and wouldn’t you know it, he gets the winning ticket! What a surprise. But then he realizes that he is only getting coffee and bread. What a waste. But this fellow is quick. He turns to the lady behind him the one with the mountain of stuff—and proclaims, “Well, what do you know, Honey? We won! We don’t have to pay a penny.” She stares at him. He winks at her. And somehow she has the wherewithal to play along. She steps up besides him. Puts her arm in his and smiles. For a moment they stand side by side, wedded by good fortune. In the parking lot she consummates the temporary union with a kiss and a hug and goes on her way with a grand story to tell her friends. I know, I know. What they did was a bit shady. He shouldn’t have lied and she shouldn’t have pretended. But that taken to account, it’s still a nice story. A story not too distant from our own. We, too, have been graced with a surprise. Even more than that of the lady. For though her debt was high, she could pay it. We can’t begin to pay ours. We, like the woman, have been given a gift. Not just for a moment, but for eternity. And not just for groceries, but for the feast. Don’t we have a grand story to tell our friends?