m time to time we were able to get a few nice items from the S&H Green Stamp Redemption Center. Mom and I always enjoyed looking through their catalog as we picked out what we wanted when we finally had enough books filled up.Back in those days you would not only bring your groceries home in real, brown, paper bags, but after ringing up your items a machine near the cash register would spit out a certain amount of Green Stamps, depending upon the total of your receipt. The cashiers back then didn’t have registers that automatically told them how much change you should get — they had to figure it out for themselves and actually count it back to you! It kept both cashier and customer sharp with their arithmetic!
We’d get home and one of us would soon sit down and begin the process of adhering the stamps to the front and back of each page! The stamps were green on the front and on the back was a glue that, of course, became sticky when wet. And the saliva glands went into overdrive as we licked and pressed the stamps onto the dry pages of the book. By the time we were done, our tongues were dry and the taste of glue stayed with us for hours! Week after week we would re-count our books and anxiously await the day when we could turn the books in for our “wished-for” item.Waiting on our books to fill up was mighty good for us, as it taught us patience and the reward at the end gave us something to look forward to! No credit cards back then! We paid cash or simply did without. And our faith increased as we relied on God to meet our needs in daily ways and, at other times, miraculously!
There’s sadness in my heart for our society today — instant credit and instant gratification have taken away our need to wait on the Lord and watch Him supply. Now if we need something, we simply grab our Visa card and pay for it later. The only credit back then was at the corner “Mom and Pop” store where a running tab was kept on regular customers. Your word was good, and you eventually paid your bill in full.
If given the choice to do it all over again, I would still ask the Lord to put me in my family that had to trust God for their daily needs. So many lessons were learned from that experience as a child that have helped me cope in life as an adult. Some of my favorite childhood meals were served when money was scarce, such as a dinner of nothing but fresh corn-on-the-cob served with real butter, or home-fried potatoes. Yum-yum! When the day finally arrived for us to “cash in our books” it was exciting! Mom would often get new sheets, pillowcases, bath towels, or something pretty for the house.
Mom not only knew how to redeem her time, but also her money, which was always scarce. But every bill got paid and we never missed a meal, thanks to the provision of our wonderful Lord! Time today is a precious commodity. In our age of affluence and modern conveniences, it moves at record speed. And before we know it, life will be behind us and eternity ahead.
Yesterday’s time is gone and tomorrow’s sunrise may not come for us. But we have today to redeem, or cash in, our time. Spend your time wisely and it will reward you. Spend time with the Lord each morning before your day begins and your mind is at its peak performance.
Fill your day with prayer, call a friend, visit someone who is sick or lonely, volunteer in your community, read a book while sitting on your porch or in your favorite chair. Work in your garden or flower bed, play with your grandchildren, talk and laugh with your spouse, invite someone to dinner, take a walk along an autumn path and watch the leaves fall gently to the ground. Lay in your hammock and watch the clouds go by, and give a gospel tract to a lost person.
But, most of all, listen long and with a pure heart to the voice of God. He often speaks with a still, small voice, and if our time is spent surrounded by loud distractions, or consumed with “busyness” we will fail to hear His soft whisper in our ears. Ephesians 5 tells us to make good use of our time, because the days are evil. God instructs us not to be unwise, but to ask Him for wisdom.
Stay busy today, but don’t run so fast that you fail to enjoy the day, or fail to hear your Father call out to you.
All material copyright, October 2008
