Surviving Black Friday

 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, 
what you will eat or what you will drink,
 or about your body, what you will wear. 
Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 
  Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,
 and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 

Matthew 6


I hate shopping malls. Hate 'em. I go from time to time because there are stores which I like to frequent, infrequently, in the flesh, but I find the experience soul-destroying. So what did I do this morning? I went to the mall with my beloved ON BLACK FRIDAY! We were in and out quickly and we did score a few timely deals which addressed some of our Christmas shopping. I did feel vaguely ill in the "I buy, therefore I am" press of people. Mind you, no one was trampling the competition or any of the other nonsense we used to witness across the border before the phenomenon of the American Thanksgiving weekend sales frenzy migrated northward. 

What is the antidote for this strange compulsion to have more stuff? We're told that Canadians have a dangerously high level of personal debt yet we are enthused about piling on more, it would seem.

The "sale" offered by a nature trail in Newfoundland is a clever response to consumerism. There is even a guarantee of sorts with a 100% chance of a positive mood change brought about by spending time in the natural world. 

The past couple of days we spent time outside despite the cold. I did some work around our daughter and son-in-law's place on Wednesday as my nose dripped with impunity. I enjoyed several hours in the cold crisp air. On the drive home we were surprised to see a rainbow, even though there was no precipitation. As we turned eastward toward home we witnessed what seemed to be an enormous moon rise above the horizon. In the rear-view mirror the brilliant red sun set.

This was the best "deal" we could possibly get, and I thank God for it.