Jesus in the Waiting—When You are the Runway Grocery Cart
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Luke 15: 3-7 NIV
It happened so fast. I was putting my groceries in my car and the parking spot had a slight incline. As I was rearranging the bags, I turned to retrieve the bags to see the cart rolling away down the parking lot. “Stop!” I screamed at the cart!”. It kept on its journey with my walking cane inside the cart. I had no fast way to catch it. Finally, the cart hit a pole only to bounce into a car.
When I finally retrieved the cart. Tears filled my eyes from the embarrassment and exhaustion of the ordeal. A young man, who had seen the parking lot fiasco, came over to me and held the cart until I finished putting the groceries in my car. I was heading back into the store to find a manager to tell them what happened so I could find the owner of the car. I looked back to get the license plate when I saw an older man driving one of the store’s scooters to the car.
I approached him and told him how sorry I was that it happened. He looked at the spot on his car where the cart hit and said, “Sweetie, don’t worry about it. We both have bigger things to worry about then a dent from a shopping cart. I appreciate you being honest and telling me. Please don’t worry about it. All is forgiven. You have a good rest of the day now.” I thanked him for being so understanding.
“All is forgiven.” kept ringing in my ears. How many times have I been that runaway shopping cart with God? Him running behind me yelling for me to stop! But I keep on the path until I come crashing down on my knees- asking God to forgive and help me out of the mess I made.
That’s where I find Jesus say, “All is forgiven.” With His nailed scarred hands, He wipes away the tears and heals the scrapes, and helps me to start again.
Lord, thank you so much that you are the God of second, third, fourth and on and on chances. You know we are not perfect. Sometimes it takes crashing to the ground on our knees before we can finally hear what You are saying to us.”
Mitzie Avera
