I am the world’s worst shopper.

It doesn’t matter if I’m shopping for clothing, furniture or food. I despise it equally.  If I need a can of soup, I just want to run into the store, grab a can and check out. My husband, on the other hand, stands thoughtfully in the soup aisle. He figures out which can is the best value comparing cost vs. volume.

We don’t grocery shop together much anymore.

Recently, I had to go out shopping for some warm-weather clothes. I’m going to visit my Dad in Florida, so I needed some lighter weight things. (I heard they didn’t have snow and ice there.)

There I was, standing helplessly in front of a rack of pants, completely befuddled. What style will fit better? What color should I buy? I like white, but it gets dirty so fast. Oh brother, this is going to take forever.

I got lucky and found something, but just in the nick of time. My patience for trying on clothes was nearing its end.

Maybe it’s the amount of choices. I wish I could walk into a store, and there it would be. One rack. On it would be one pair of pants. Maybe even a few spotlights trained on the hangar. I’d grab these miracle pants, knowing that they fit perfectly and are just the right color.

So simple. Now that’s heaven.

I think I am just the kind of person God had in mind when he gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. Or when Jesus gave us the greatest commandment of all, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and all your strength and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10)

The Lord knew that his children needed direction. But it needed to be simple and easy to understand. Without that kind of guidance, life can get complicated.

When Moses left the camp to climb Mt. Sinai, all heck broke loose. Faced with a ton of choices while the leader was gone, the Israelites did anything and everything they wanted. It was a complete disaster.

The Jews of Jesus’ time followed over 600 laws found in the Torah. Whoever followed them the best, was considered the holiest. When the Pharisees asked Jesus which ones were the most important, it was a hopeless situation. ALL the rules were important to them.

But Jesus shocked them all by boiling down all those laws into two sentences. The Lord knew that giving simple, clear instructions would bring clarity.

You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. You must love your neighbor as yourself.

(Mark 12)

The Ten Commandments and Jesus’ two ‘rules’ are like finding the those pants on the single rack. All the distractions, options and choices are whittled away to basic directions. I love that.

Some people find rules confining, and say choice is a fundamental right. Well, I have found that sometimes, it’s better to have concise direction. I’m happy for simple clarity.

So simple, I won’t need those spotlights.

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Linking today with: Still Saturday

Surrounded by the Spirit on Facebook

“ Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.”          ~ Confucius

I think we can all agree that preparing to do anything is time well spent. That’s true of any task. But I have found that if the situation involves a work of mercy, sometimes you don’t get the prep time.

When I started at the local homeless shelter, I chose to work the dinner shift. I like to be busy. We’d start by heating the food, and setting up the tables for dinner. Then we would all serve the food, clean up after mealtime and set up the mattresses for sleeping.

We all fell into an easy camaraderie. Sometimes there’d be time to grab plates of food and sit down with the guests. I would have wonderful talks with some, and listen to confusing, rambling talk from others. But it was all so fulfilling.

After working that shift for a few years, I got a call the day before our scheduled night. They were having trouble finding a female to work the 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. time slot. It was policy to have male and female volunteers because we took in men and women at the site.

I was really surprised. I wouldn’t be able to meet anyone first, and I didn’t know what the duties were. That didn’t seem to bother the voice on the other end of the phone.

How do I while away four hours in the middle of the night? How do I stay awake?

I didn’t have much time to decide. In the end, I agreed to the new assignment.

The next day I was one nervous lady. I looked for crossword puzzles to work on, and grabbed the book I had started reading. I also had a cross-stitch project I hadn’t touched in two years. Well, why not. All I’ll have is time. I had enough in my bag to keep me busy for a Trans-Atlantic flight.

As I walked into the building, an eerie quiet met me. Hushed tones, guest counts and a procedure manual met me. Quiet replaced the usual pots and pans rattling and cheery greetings of the earlier shift. Peering into the darkened gym, I saw the outline of mattresses, arranged in rows. The soft sounds of sleep and dreams wafted in the air.

One of the volunteers stage-whispered to me, “Hey Ceil! Do you play pinochle?”

You know, the night went very well. We took in two people who were brought over by the police department. We gave them some dinner, and set them up for sleep. I was able to stay awake just fine, because pinochle is the way late-night volunteers stay alert.

So while I agree in principle with Confucius, I am reminded of another saying. “God doesn’t always call the equipped. He equips the called.”

The Lord gave me a willing spirit, good work to do, and good people partner with me. Add in his grace, and I had everything I needed to succeed.