When we lived in the heart of Minneapolis, I had a membership at Costco.  I’d drive a long way, spent more than I should’ve on things I normally wouldn’t buy. I had my prescriptions filled, had photos developed, got ink for my printer, could buy a car if I wanted to. I thought it was the ideal place to save money. 

When we moved to small town, Minnesota I discovered there was a Costco only two miles from our house.  I could go there for a free lunch by tasting all the samples.  That first year I managed to stock up on things that I still have several years later.  Since we downsized, I no longer have room for all the accumulated “good” deals, so I reluctantly failed to renew my membership.  When I finally gave in and needed to purchase hearing aids, I renewed that membership and saved myself quite a bundle. Now that my 31-year-old grandson is living with me, we usually stock up for a few months.

Shopping has become more of a chore for me these days. When you wind down to the last years of your life, your needs aren’t as huge as they once were. Except for having things like toilet paper, paper towels, laundry soap and an occasional cheesecake, buying large isn’t really necessary. Still, their produce is wonderful, but how many mangos can two people eat before they spoil? Did I mention their bakery is packed with exceptional goodies?

I recently watched an episode of “The Golden Girls,” where the matriarch, Sophia bought a warehouse membership and went berserk buying cases of items she wouldn’t be able to use in two lifetimes.  The episode ended with her making dinner one night.  It was a sardine casserole covered with crunched up oatmeal cookies – a lot of it.

I have a hunch that our society is headed for cocooning in the future.  We’re almost there in fact.  We work at home.  We shop and order meals to be delivered to us.  Our prescriptions can be mailed to us. If you have a warehouse shopping card, you only have to shop once every three years.  You can get an education online as well as go to church.  You can even study the Bible on your phone – there’s an app for that. You won’t have to interact with anyone face to face except for those who deliver things to you – but they won’t bother to talk to you anyway.

Read Matthew 6:19-21, where Jesus tells us not to store things of this world for future use, because they will spoil or be destroyed before they can be used. He instead advises us to look to Heaven where treasures beyond measure await us. After His death and resurrection, He returned to his throne in Heaven to prepare a place for us. Everything will be provided for us – and we won’t want for anything – not even toilet paper.

THANK YOU, JESUS, FOR ANOTHER DAY!