Just prior to Thanksgiving I managed to break out with shingles. I learned from the doctor (who diagnosed this itching, stabbing, burning rash) I was contagious. Oh bother.
This changed
plans a bit, but I must admit gladly so. You see, I was supposed to go Walmart
grocery shopping and take our son who absolutely loves exploring that store repeatedly. I am not, however, a great fan of shopping—anywhere!
I didn’t
want to let Min down, so we decided I’d use the Pick-Up option to get groceries
we needed so he could have his moments of wonder and excitement inside the
store.
I went
over the change in our regular routine, as our son needs this each and every
time we do just about anything. “This time I’m going to pull up and let you out
to go in the store on your own.”
“Okay,”
Min said with a smile (as much of a smile as he wears as he isn’t a huge
smiler), “and I’ll be responsible and grown-up, and I will call you when I’m
done. Right?
“Yes,” I
said. “Do that because I’m going to park further down the lot after I pick up
our groceries.”
So, plan
in place, I got the food then pulled into an empty space further down the parking
lot than usual. I whistled tunes a while then found myself daydreaming, when I
spotted something that made me smile.
Across
the way stood a cart return. There are many of those in the lot, all with a grocery
cart logo on top. The sign on this particular bay, however, had slipped,
leaving the shopping cart logo upside-down.
I
chuckled. Didn’t the shoppers get the message? They all put their carts in
there right-side up. I laughed again. Such rebellion! Then my phone
rang.
“I’m
done,” our son said on the other end. “I’m coming out the food-end door.”
“Okay!
I’ll be there in a minute.” I started the car, pulled out, and went to picked
up Min.
He loaded
his bags in back then climbed into the car.
“Do you
know how to take pictures on a phone?” I asked, thinking we’d done this a time
or two before but not remembering how. (I’m seriously techno-challenged.)
“Yeah.”
“Well,
can you take one for me please? I saw something I thought was funny.”
“Yeah.”
I drove
back to where the rebellious shoppers parked their carts right-side up and
pulled the car sideways so Min could take the picture.
Min gave
me a blank look.
“I know.
I’ve lost my mind, but I thought it was funny that no one put their cart in the
bay upside down.
“Oh,”
Min said. “It should match, right?”
“Exactly!”
Then Min
smiled big. He took the picture then passed me the phone. “Can I go over
there and turn a cart upside down?” He asked. “That’s funny.”
“Okay.
Then I’ll take your picture.”
Min got
out, flipped the cart upside down, and gave me a thumbs up.
I
indicated when the task was completed, and he turned the cart upright and
parked it in the bay.
“Rebel!”
I yelled out the window.
He came
over to the car, got in and buckled his seatbelt. “What are you going to do
with the pictures?”
“Oooh, I
dunno. Maybe nothing. Maybe get some idea for a blog post.”
“Maybe
we should use carts upside down,” Min said.
“Cheaper
that way! And shop on our heads!”
“Can we
do that?” he asked.
“I
hardly think so.”
Okay! Insane
moments! I admit it. (What else is new?) But, if you think about it, my ridicu-litis
could be credible. After all, the Walmart rebels? Some shop in pajamas, ya
know. So, who’s to say there’s not an actual rebellion going on!
I did
come up with a reason to use this experience in my blog, which you’ve already
discovered if you read this far, you who don’t park your shopping carts upside
down.
I got to
thinkin’ about our upside-down world vs. the one I grew up in scores of years
ago. Your world too? Let me "splain"…
Visualize
a pyramid! The bottom wide, the top a point. A stable structure, like the
pyramids in Egypt—standing firm over 1000s of years. If you were to take one of
those (if you could, which you can’t, but if you could) and turn it upside down
and rest it on its point. The structure would tumble and break apart. If it
didn’t initially tumble, the point would shatter under the pressure.
Now
think of the pyramid as an illustration, as we were taught and believed (and
still do) that man and woman are at the bottom of a pyramid with God at the
top—God being the utmost as He should be represented. King of kings, Lord of
lords, supreme!
Over the
years, the fall of man (caused by sin) has done a 180 to that pyramid. Now man
and woman are portrayed as most import along with every form of false teaching
they’ve used for building their pyramid. They are still on what had been the
base of the pyramid before, but now God—Who was/is on the point now sits at the
bottom tip.
That’s
what we’ve done with God. Humanism, environmental teaching that earth is our
mother, cults, sexual revolution, moral fall, etc. have all played a part in
the once strong pyramid being inverted. God is now portrayed as small. Weak. Man
and woman—all-powerful—now are at the top. Playing God. But…
That
structure can’t stand forever. In fact, it tumbles easily. Remember. The
pyramid cannot balance on its tip and will topple, becoming rubble.
How did
this happen?
Rebellion.
Real rebellion. (Not like the people who didn’t park their carts in obedience
to an inverted sign.)
We live
in dangerous times. Nearly godless times.
Oh,
there are those who hold solidly to the Word of God—their foundation, and there
are genuine revivals breaking out—praise the Lord. But for the most part, the
grounded believers are percentage-wise smaller than the masses.
One
example of this has to do with shopping, believe it or not.
Have you
noticed, as Christmas approaches, stores and ads show more and more “things”
you can buy and don’t show or mention Jesus—the Reason for the season? Have you
noticed each year Jesus gets pushed further and further away from the time of
year we should be coming to “let us adore Him?”
This is
a part of the inverted pyramid. Making God small. Making “things” big—“must
haves.”
I, for
one, almost feel like scrapping Christmas gifts altogether. Call me a Scrooge.
A Grinch. But it hurts my heart to see Jesus ignored. Kept in storage. And, if
He does show up on a shelf, for example, in Walmart, He is quite alone.
After
all, it is His Birthday!
No Room / Have You Any Room for Jesus?
Evie
Tornquist - No Room - Have You Any Room For Jesus
#shopping #rebellion #pyramid #forgettingJesusbirthday #Christmas
Photo Credit: Nativity~pixabay.com
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