Unconditional Love and Empty Shelves

Three years ago, we all saw some strange things. I remember a trip to Costco during which there was a scramble for toilet paper. The store was wisely limiting customers to two large bundles of the stuff per membership. Of course some were trying to cheat. The stories of stores running out were making the headlines, and nobody wanted to be caught without.

The pasta aisle at our local supermarket was no better. Where there had once been row after row of pastas to choose from, now sat empty shelves. The only thing that remained was a box or two of some gluten free, vegan lasagna noodles. I guess nobody wants those things, even in a zombie apocalypse!

Oh, and eggs… my beautiful $.49 per dozen eggs at Aldi were suddenly over $4.00 per dozen. For weeks it was cheaper to buy the “expensive” eggs in the fancy cartons than to buy the normal everyday eggs. Eventually, even that changed. Then, every egg in the fridge became a precious commodity.

It is amazing what fear will do. It has the power to clear grocery shelves of their food. It has the power to make people fight over rolls of toilet paper. Shoot, fear motivated us to buy a cabinet to hold extra provisions, “just in case.” Provisions we are still working our way through. I guess they weren’t all that vital after all.

Each day, when I pray that God will show me how to live, His example of unconditional love is one of the most powerful signs of how I am to live. After rebelling so completely agains God and His plan for my life, all I had to do was turn around. There He was, fully stocked, fully accessible. I didn’t have to fight for His love. Nor did He withhold His best from me. His love was free, and abundant.

Practicing unconditional love means I do not hoard those things in life that I deem to be vital. Nor do I offer only those part of me that are like those sad lasagna noodles that nobody wants. I also cannot raise the price of my love beyond what others can pay. In fact, unconditional love is free.

I pray today that God would help me to live a life of unconditional love. Knowing that I do not have to fear somehow running out of love gives me confidence to do so.

Have a remarkable day!