My Grandmother’s Pocketbook

I found myself acting like my grandmother today.
All of a sudden it occurred to me as I was paying for something at a cash register.
I was doing some fall decorating.
I needed a bale of straw, cornstalks, pumpkins, and gourds.

I got most of what I needed at a wonderful little country market.
It is owned and operated by a friend and her family.
It is a farm to table kind of place.
They sell fresh beef, eggs, and dairy along with delectable baked goods.

It is a cozy place open for breakfast and lunch.
Cyclists stop by as they take a break from their long bike ride.
Fresh coffee is always waiting.
A local artisan sells beautiful pottery that lines the shelves.

Fresh vegetables are available.
A few tables and a counter are inside with more seats outside.
I was refreshed as I went inside not only because I saw my friend and her twin sister.
I was refreshed because this is the Lord’s place.

There are regular customers that enjoy the friendly greeting and atmosphere.
Just the other day, a couple came in and said the sweetest thing to me, my friend said.
They said, ‘There is something different here.’
There is; it is the Lord’s place.

This is a place of hospitality.
This is a place of fellowship.
This is a place of feeding others with the Lord’s bounty.
This is a place of ministry.

The owners are people that love the Lord and love to make Him known.
They are people that serve others in His name.
Blessed are the customers that frequent this place.
Blessed are the ones that just happen to find it as they cycle through our county.

Far Away Farms Country Corner is aptly named.
The now and not yet of the Kingdom.
Near, yet still far from our Heavenly Home.
Jesus is the Lord of their lives and of this place.

As I perused the harvest bounty and made my selection, I loaded my car.
I kept a list on a pad of paper of all that I was purchasing so it could be tallied up inside.
Beautiful mums of all colors and a handmade Indian corn wreath caught my eye.
Two little boys having lunch with their mom watched me intently.

Pumpkins! the little one exclaimed.
So big, the other one said as he saw me choose some large pumpkins for a Jack-o-lantern.
The pumpkins are big, I answered back as I lifted them into the minivan.
The back of my minivan was packed with all the things I needed for fall.

I went inside.
The fresh baked aroma lingered in the air.
I went to the cash resister with my list.
My total was tallied.

I took out two twenty-dollar bills to pay for everything.
I wanted to give the cashier a smaller bill so she wouldn’t have to make as much change.
I have to give you two twenties, I said apologetically.
But then I remembered the money tucked away in another place.

Oh, wait a minute, I have two fives, I said more excited than I should.
I laughed and she looked at me.
I just became my grandmother, I said.
My grandmother used to have envelopes of money in different places in her pocketbook.

The woman, around my age, laughed knowingly.
It was the Depression Era woman who kept her money close at hand.
My grandmother would have an envelope for church and an envelope for the paperboy.
She would have an envelope for the water bill and an envelope for her food money.

I was just like her.
I didn’t have envelopes, but I had money separated in my wallet to be used for different things.
I became just like her.
I handed over the two five-dollar bills and took back one of the twenties and we both laughed.

Compartments.
Designated envelopes for certain things.
Categories.
Separateness.

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so He went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who is touching Him and what kind of woman she is – that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, Teacher,” he said. “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which one of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt cancelled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.  Then He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for My feet, but she wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give Me a kiss, but this woman from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing My feet. You did not pour oil on My head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven – for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven loves little. Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you go in peace.” (Luke 7:36-50)

Categories.
Simon only saw categories.
Like my grandmother’s pocketbook, there was a neat envelope for everything.
This goes here and that goes there.

Jesus did not put people into categories.
If they came to Him in faith, they were saved.
We label people in the categories we make for them.
This sin and that sin; horrible and not so bad.

That is our way.
That is not Jesus’ way.
There is no worse sin than any other.
Sin is sin.

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:10)

Do we really want to live in a works based mentality?
Can we ever measure up?
Do we really want to be placed in categories?
We are all sinners.

There is only one sin that will keep us from heaven.
And that sin is not believing in Jesus.
Saving faith is not just intellectual belief.
Saving faith is a heart overhaul.

The Holy Spirit comes in and takes over.
We now have a Lord.
We now serve Him alone.
We now obey what He says.

But not perfectly, not this side of heaven.
Jesus doesn’t see categories or keep a tally sheet of our behavior.
We sin, we confess, we repent, and we are forgiven.
Your faith has saved you go in peace.

Done deal.
No categories.
No separateness.
Saved for the now and not yet in this faraway corner of the Kingdom.