Take it to the bank

Today, I had to take my car in for it's 10k mile service check. We bought the car in Clanton, so I have about an hour drive. About 30 minutes into my drive, I stopped at a convenience store to get a drink and a bag of pretzels. To my surprise, when I got to the register, I did not have my wallet. I was in a panic mode! I run out to my car hoping that it had fell out, but there was no sign of it. I told the cashier that I would put the pretzels back, but there is no way I can put back a fountain drink. As I was scrambling around in my purse to find some change, the cashier told me to go home, find my wallet, and just stop back in and pay later. I explained that I lived 30 minutes away, but she had my word that I would come back and pay. She told me she trusted me, but luckily, I was able to find enough change to pay for my drink and pretzels. Thank goodness, when I got home, my wallet was on my couch.

I don't know why this cashier was taking a chance on trusting me. She didn't know me - so there is no way she could know if I would make good on my word. Maybe it was the panic that she saw in my eyes or my willingness to put back what I could and scrounge for change to pay for what I couldn't return. Maybe she felt like she could handle losing $2.68 if I didn't return. Maybe I have an honest face. I don't know, but she took me at my word.

What this woman didn't know is that when I tell someone that I am going to do something, you can take it to the bank. I don't say that boastfully, but unless I am providentially hindered, I do my very best to keep my word. Keeping your word is the easiest way to build creditability and also, the easiest way to lose it. We live in a time where there is a need for contracts because a lot of people's word is useless. There was a time where a handshake was just as good as a contract. In fact, the mention of a contract was probably an insult because a person's word was their bond.

Keeping your word is a sign of integrity. Integrity is a requirement for trust and if people can't trust your word, they won't trust you. Our word should be sacred to us and trustworthy to others. We need to honor our word even when it is difficult, expensive, or inconvenient. It may be costly sometimes, but in not doing so, it is more costly to your character.

Love Unconditional

Okay, so this post is going to make me sound like one of those crazy pet people...but I guess I am sorta am becoming that person.

I have been having a really stress full couple of days (weeks) at work. Between being off a couple days last week, having auditors (yes, again) in, and just the normal year end preparations, work has just about put me over the edge.

But then, I come home. Each and every single day that I pull up, I have my own welcoming committee just waiting on me. No matter how bad my mood is from work, I always smile at the sight of these two dogs. They can be dead asleep, but when they see my car coming down the driveway, they immediately jump up as though they don't want to miss the opportunity to let me know how much they have missed me while I have been gone. I can be gone for five minutes, five hours, or five days. They are just generally happy to see me. Their love for me is just so unconditional. Gosh, I wish I was a lot more like my sweet dogs. They love me no matter what. It doesn't matter what kind of day they have had. They are always happy and want to spread that happiness to you. They don't judge me and they sure don't care what I look like. They listen to me and never talk back....well, Fred sorta does. My singing doesn't bother them or even all my flaws. In fact, if anything about me bothers them, they sure never let it affect their love for me. They just love me for who I am with little expectations of anything but some hands on attention from me and the occasional table scraps.

Imagine if we acted and loved like that?

No Vacancy

Over 2,000 years ago, Joseph and his wife Mary made the long and tiring trip to Bethlehem. I can only image how uncomfortable the trip must have been on Mary. Being nine months pregnant is uncomfortable in the best of circumstances. I imagine all Mary wanted was a nice warm bath and a comfortable bed to rest in. What she got was the message that there was no room for them in the inn. I don't know, but I am sure Joseph probably frantically went from place to place trying to find somewhere where his wife could rest before delivering her baby. Maybe the innkeeper, seeing Mary's condition, had sympathy on them and offered up his stable for them to spend the night. In the lowliest of conditions, Jesus, King of Kings, was born that night.

That is just the way we are today. Nobody has room for the King of Kings. We stay so busy in the busyiness of life, that we just don't have the room for Him. We have just entered into one of the busiest holiday seasons. Everybody loves the Christmas season and goes all out in decorating their homes. We spend hours trying to find the perfect gifts for our loved ones. Oh sure, we know what the real meaning of Christmas is, but we don't take the time to really put the focus on Him. I know I don't. Outside of Christmas, most people give no thought to Jesus. Who He is and what He has done. For us. We don't find the time to read the Bible or to pray. By doing so, we might as well be putting a no vacancy sign across our hearts.

I wonder if had the innkeeper had known who was about to be born that night, would he have made some different arrangements for that night? I am sure he would have. We know who Jesus is, which is all the more reason for us to never put out a no vacancy sign across our hearts and lives.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:7