Not so bad on "Black Friday"

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When I was a teenager I swore up and down that I would never ever go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I have kept that solemn vow until this year. My wife on the other hand has never met a sale she didn't like. She'll be shopping when Jesus returns I'm sure. Now she doesn't spend a lot of money she just enjoys the experience of shopping. I enjoy deer hunting. This year I volunteered to go "hunting" with her very early in the morning on "Black Friday" as they call it. She prepped me by announcing that we'd need to get up a 3:00 am! "Do what!??" Yep, 330 in the morning, 0-darkthrity, up before the chickens. I don't get up near that early to deer hunt and I like to be in the stand way before day break. Tammy has been wanting an upright mixer for about 10 years. I want her to get one, because unlike exercise equipment that doubles for a clothes hanger, this bad boy will get used. It'll get used for cakes and breads and pies and stuff that I like to eat over Christmas. So our alarm interrupted my REM sleep at 0300 and I immediately realized that this was not my area of expertise. I kept saying to her...."why would anyone be there this early, its 0-dark thirty, I mean come on!"

She looked at me and said, "Brad Borders, you have no idea what you are talking about!"

I still didn't believe her, that is until we pulled into the parking lot. I was my usual over confident Army officer self, thinking that I know something about everything. Lo and behold there were cars everywhere at 0355 in the morning. There were people everywhere, standing in line and chatting like it was the middle of the day. The doors opened and everyone rushed in and it was obvious they had done some intel on the store. They ran right to specific spots where they knew that particular product was going to stacked or placed or hanging. I nearly got mowed down in the confusion, still wiping the sleep out of my eyes. I think I might be suffering PTSD from the whole ordeal. Tammy secured the area around her mixer and I carried it to the line to check out which was about 200 people long! Lord have mercy, get me out of here! I was trapped in the web of the idol of materialism! But finally we did make it out and as we moved across the parking lot in the full moon of a late November morning and I heard a voice out of the darkness, "You ain't right!" I looked to my right and there was my pastor, Mack Jarvis, cruising the Kohl's parking lot at 0445 in the morning. I shot back, "You ain't right either!"

We all laughed and carried on for another few minutes. At least he had the brains to stay in his vehicle and wait on his wife who was inside. Tammy and I spent the next 4 hours together trying to get in Best Buy and then finally giving up and heading to Wally World. We had breakfast with Robbie and Kelly our dear friends. I actually love being with my wife even in the hell of "Black Friday" She is hilarious and makes me laugh. After 16 years of marriage I still just enjoy her company and that in itself is a blessing from God. Now, I'll never get her into a tree blind, but I did cross over into her world for a while and even outside of my are of expertise, it wasn't bad at all because we were together. I read these in God's Word and it sums it all up today.

18: 22 Find a good spouse, you find a good life—
and even more: the favor of God!

AND

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

Thanks for a great day Tammy....I am thankful for you on Thanksgiving!

The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (Eph 5:25-28). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

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