December 19, 2003

Encouragement for Today

Love Covers All

Mary Southerland

Key Verses:

But anyone who does not love does not know God--for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. (1 John 4: 8-10)

Devotion:

When I was a little girl my mother collected S&H green trading stamps. She collected them while I licked and pasted them in saving books. For months, she would hoard the small, green stamps until she had enough to trade for something she needed. It was always something we needed until that Saturday in December. "Get the green stamp books. We are going to town!" Mama said to me, a strange excitement in her voice. I assumed that we were going to buy a Christmas present for someone in our family since I knew that Mama never bought anything for herself at the Green Stamp Redemption Center. No, that would have been a luxury in which she rarely, if ever, allowed herself to indulge. Stamps in hand, off we went to find a treasure.

When we reached the redemption center Mama marched straight in, past the appliances, toys, hairdryers and vacuums, heading straight for the linens department. She did not look around or hesitate until she abruptly stopped, a smile spreading across her face. "It’s still here!" she whispered in relief. I remember thinking that whatever she had spotted must be very special to warrant such determination and such joy. When I realized that the blue treasure she clutched in her hands was just a tablecloth I simply did not understand. There were so many other beautiful things in the store and we had been saving those green stamps for months. And she was going to buy a tablecloth? What was so special about an ordinary tablecloth? I was confused – until we got home.