| Job 12:12 – “Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding.” |
We do a lot of our grocery shopping at Kroger. We also shop Aldi and Walmart. I say “we”. The only store I go to alone is Kroger. I accompany my wife to the others on occasion.
I like to buy breakfast sausage patties, pre-cooked and frozen. Kroger brand is 15 to a package for $9.99. A few months ago it was $4.99. Like so many things it has shot up. I gave them up for that reason. Until I saw that sausage in the tube is $2.50 for the same weight. I decided to buy it uncooked and unsliced. A few nights ago, I sliced it (got 14 patties out of it) and fried it up in a skillet. I like it crispy. Quite a bit of grease splatter. My grandmother Hope, used to cover her kitchen floor with newspaper before cooking. I realized there was probably grease splatter on my shoes and the floor after I finished. She was wise to do what she did. I wiped my shoes and the floor with a paper towel. I saved a few dollars doing it this way and created a little mess. To have it sliced and cooked in a bag and frozen is worth a few bucks, I now realize, having done it the hard way.
Our ancestors did many things the hard way compared to how we operate. My grandmother Hazel made pies and biscuits from flour. No canned or frozen. She knew how because she pre-dated those conveniences. So many things we can’t fully appreciate until we do without them. Like our morning hot shower, or our refrigerator/freezer. My grandfather Bennie operated an ice house at the age of 14, his first venture in Healdton, Oklahoma, 1924. After refrigeration came in, he opened a grocery store after running a dry goods business. Sometimes, it comes in handy knowing how to do things the “old fashioned way”.
Those who have gone before us have much to teach us, if we are willing to learn. Since we have a great cloud of witnesses (that Paul refers to), cheering us on, let us run the faith race with determination, just as they did! Others are rooting for us. Father in heaven, help us to not lose heart, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
– Jeff Beall
