I got the text. “Drop everything and run to the store. They got a shipment of toilet paper.” I jumped up ran to my car. I drove right at the edge of the law. I got into the parking lot and did not follow all of the painted stripes. I snapped out of the car and then walked to the door acting as calm as a cucumber. I turned to the left and moved nonchalantly down the main walkway. I noticed the blue guiding lines on the floor. I made eye contact with several people and avoided colliding with them. I scanned the buggies at the check-out registry. No one had toilet paper. Not a good sign.
I turned down aisle eleven which boldly listed “Bath Tissue” and was greeted by empty and exhausted shelves. They looked disheveled. One person stood staring at the empty shelves. I spun on my heals and headed back to the car. No sense catching something in the story that I did not want while trying to find what I did want. I felt like I was looking for the pot at the end of the rainbow. This was not the first time I had missed the golden moment.
Since it has all started we have found one package of four small rolls. It’s like we have them in a cabinet marked “Break Glass In Case of Emergency.” We know when we open that package that we will be entering a new level of urgency. Until then we are alright.
A couple of weeks ago I was greeted in Walmart by a person who had toilet paper. We had gotten there before it opened to get inline. We need to get a couple of things and thought we would check for TP. We were #15 into the store, but the few rolls were snapped up by the people in front of us.
Then a person came to me at the register. It was like one of those guys who was selling fake watches on the streets of New York. “Pastor, do you need toilet paper?” At the time we did not feel it was very urgent, so I said, “No.”
Then she told me a story. She shops every day looking for toilet paper. She makes a rotating drive and goes to all the stores that might carry it. When she finds some, she buys some. Then she returns to the stores that are out and she waits until she finds someone staring at the empty toilet paper shelves. Then she invites them to the parking lot and gives them the toilet paper she has bought. She never takes any money from the person, instead she reminds them of God’s love. Occasionally, someone who watches this will force some money into her hand and then she starts the whole process over again. She has assigned herself this task.
God reminds us, at just the right moment, we are loved,
Kyle