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Early Bird Sale!!!

Just seeing the words EARLY BIRD SALE…NIGHT OWL SALE…MOONLIGHT MADNESS SALE…all  can start my heart to racing every time.  And, well, I have to admit that the words, CLEARANCE SALE…50% off...75% off can cause some major palpitations right away, and it’s what I like to call a “Hallelujah” moment when I see a 90% OFF sign! Just think…I’m only paying 10%!!! It just doesn’t get much better than that!  Then the real “Glory” moment comes when I get home, spread out all my items, and figure out what all of these treasures WOULD have cost compared to what I ACTUALLY paid for them.  Now THAT is FUN! 

On a recent Saturday morning, I was enjoying my quiet, no alarm setting kind of morning, no rush…when I spotted a brightly colored advertisement from one of my favorite stores.  I couldn’t believe my eyes!  In bold print were the words, EARLY BIRD SALE…EVERYTHING IN THE STORE…50% off!!!  Of course, I threw myself together and off I went, thinking, no problem, I have until 1:00pm to shop…plenty of time.  Then, to my utter shock and horror, a sign on the store’s front door read that the sale ended at NOON, not 1:00pm as I had thought! 

Being the accomplished shopper that I am, I quickly began weaving in and out of racks and racks of clothing, snatching up several blouses that looked interesting and scurried into the next available dressing room. I hurriedly chose to first try on a pretty coral colored blouse and slipped it on, only to find that it did not fit quite right.  Just as I began to slip the blouse off over my head, I heard the announcement, “Shoppers, you have 15 minutes remaining in our Early Bird Sale!” Oh my goodness!  I had to REALLY hurry!  Now, any seasoned shopper should know not to wear dangly earrings when trying on lots of blouses. And, of course, I had forgotten that unspoken shoppers’ rule and, well, the unthinkable happened…yes, you got it!  My silver dangle earring got hung up in the heavy lace on the top of the pretty coral blouse and I now had less than FIFTEEN minutes and COUNTING left!!   I thought, “This can’t be happening!”  Let’s see…do I take my time and carefully detangle the earring, do I rip the earring out of my ear (NOT), or do I risk ripping the pretty coral blouse (that does not even fit) and then have to buy it anyway?!  I made the snap decision to detangle, managing to do so fairly quickly, leaving enough time to try on and choose a couple of other blouses…and secured my place in line before the “Cinderella” moment when I just knew the store would turn back into a pumpkin, so to speak.  When all was said and done I left the store with a smile on my face, treasures in hand.

When I returned home and looked over my treasures I had just purchased, I thought back over the discounts (plus coupons) I had taken advantage of and was reminded of the fact that WE are God’s TREASURES, bought with a price, the ultimate sacrifice that Christ paid on the cross.  No discounts or coupons…this love filled sacrifice was paid at Full Cost, for you and for me…that true Hallelujah and Glory moment.  Christ loves each of us 100%.  There was no need for Early Bird…Night Owl…Moonlight Madness Sales when it came to what Christ did for each of us.  The debt was PAID IN FULL.  I am so thankful, aren’t you?

Debbie Pedigo

March 4, 2014