This post was written for Five Minute Friday
Word prompt--PURSUE
Five minutes to free-write about it
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Today's pursuit of bargains did not do me well.
I was at the Dollar Tree store, and instead of just buying what I went in there for, I decided to browse the aisles and see if there were any unusual bargains.
On my stroll through the gardening supplies aisle I spotted two bags of Miracle-Gro potting soil sitting on a half-empty shelf. It seemed too good to be true, so I grabbed them both. My mind was full of thanksgiving and thoughts of the great testimony I would later share on my blog about this miraculous and unexpected stroke of good fortune.
So great was my excitement over this find, that's all I could think about, and I mindlessly paid the bill without paying attention to what I was actually being charged (easy to do when you use a card instead of cash). In the car though, I did start to wonder about it, and pondered how the few items I had purchased could possibly have come to a total of $15.
When I got home and checked my bill, I felt totally bamboozled as I realized those bags had been placed in the wrong aisle, and had cost me $5 each instead of $1.25.
In the big scheme of things, that was hardly tragic. I needed potting soil anyway. But back in the day there was something else I had pursued and thought I had found that really could have led to tragedy had the Lord Himself not come to my rescue.
Five minutes is not long enough to go into the details, but for anyone who is interested, it is all documented in my memoir, SINCERELY WRONG: An Improbable Journey.
Do not be deceived, as I was, into thinking that there are many paths to God. There is only one path we can pursue that will lead us there, and that is Jesus.
Because of Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden, we are all born into a fallen world, and because of sin we are separated from our Heavenly Father by a vast gulf that we cannot cross through our own efforts. Jesus is the only path to eternal life. The Bible tells us in John 14:6 that He is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one can come to the Father except through Him.
The good news is that God so loved the world (you and me included) that He sent Jesus to die for our sins on the cross so that "whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
This gift of salvation can only be received by grace, through faith. It cannot be earned by good works (Ephesians 2:8-9), and even though it is not God's will for anyone to perish, He will not impose His will on you or force you to accept it. The choice is yours.
I hate it when things are on the wrong shelves. And Dollar Tree is slowly charging more and more for things. I think right now $5.00 is the limit.
ReplyDeleteIt’s difficult telling my Catholic friends this, although I’ve tried. They still think they can be saved by their good works. Have mercy on them, Jesus. They need to pursue a righteousness that comes by faith. Thanks, Gina
ReplyDeleteDollar stores are a place where it's easy to be tricked because of all the different prices - and in my head, everything should still be $1!
ReplyDeleteOh Dear!! I'm sorry that this happened to you and most likely due to someone deciding they no longer wanted the potting soil, so they just sat it down on the sale shelf rather than placing it back where it needed to go. This has happened to me before and it can really be frustrating after the mistake is made. Happy Sunday....enjoy this sweet day.
ReplyDeleteSo much for the $$ tree prices. Nothing is $1.00 any longer.. so sorry for the big bucks purchases. Glad you did need the potting soil though.
ReplyDeleteSue
Oh dear. It's so frustrating when that happens. It happened to me at Christmas time and I was annoyed with myself for not noticing. It was too late once I got home. I'm glad you were able to link it to your testimony - great connection. Kath
ReplyDeleteAs I read your post it came to mind how He supplies our every need, and paying by the card enabled you to have what you needed without what the carnal mind may have tried to avoid you from having. God bless.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the lesson... another great reminder.
ReplyDeletegood tie-in between salvation and the product on the wrong shelf. very clear. FMF14
ReplyDeleteThat's a real shame about the pricing. I have been caught myself on occasion over the years. I enjoyed your post today, thank you so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for commenting on my blog. To answer your question about selling internationally on eBay, it used to be very difficult to sell that way. Now eBay does all the work for us. Of course they take a fee but it is worth it. They figure the tax and postage. When we print their ready made label, the package is sent to a U.S. hub and they then reroute it to the final destination. We still get a nice chunk of change and don't have to go through the headaches ourselves. Packaging the item is the hardest part. Finding boxes and material for protection can be a bit daunting. Nothing is ever the right size for the item.. but its all done and the pay for the things we sold is officially in our bank this morning. Out of our hands and all on eBay now...
ReplyDeleteSue
Such a relatable moment! It’s so easy to get excited about a "bargain" and only realize later it wasn’t what we thought. Love how you tied this into a bigger truth—Jesus is the only path that truly leads us where we need to go. Great reminder, Sandra!
ReplyDeleteI am Catholic and I know I will need to make it to heaven/the Lord thru Jesus. We can still do the Good Work.
ReplyDeleteI don’t like the different price points at Dollar Tree. Everything a dollar was nice and convenient. No longer!