God keeps his promises

I turned the corner and couldn't believe my eyes. The parking lot was crawling with cars. It turns out that everyone had the same idea I did. They wanted to grab the specials at Staples the day after Thanksgiving.

I have to confess that I have never gone shopping on Black Friday before so I thought all the hype was exaggerated. I heard how one guy shot another one over a video game system last year. I wrote that off as one lunatic going crazy and not a snapshot of what happens when thousands of people fight over a very limited supply of super sale items.

This year Staples promised laptop computers listed at ridiculously insane prices for all who shopped the day after Thanksgiving. My daughter was among a group of people who lined up at 4:00 a.m. to get one. She was number eleven and just before six, when the police arrived, they were told there were only ten available. no wonder people get angry. It just wasn't fair.

Of course no one said life was fair. Too often the world promises us all kinds of sweet deals and more often than not we are disappointed. Things don't turn out as we plan. There is an old poem by Annie Johnson Flint that goes,

"God has not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways
All our lives thro’;
God has not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.

God has not promised
We shall not know
Toil and temptation,
Trouble and woe;
He has not told us
We shall not bear
Many a burden,
Many a care.

But God has promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the laborer,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying love."


You can't depend on the Mall shops or chain stores to give you what you want but you can depend on God. He keeps his promises. He will not disappoint you if you simply trust him.

Have a great day.

Cal