BUT FOR THE LEAST OF THESE

I had a thought for the day, Oh at the time I believed it to be a wonderful thought. But somewhere in the awkwardness of a haphazard day, that wonderful thought began to lose a bit of its luster. You see, I began this morning as any other morning. A hot cup of coffee on the front porch as I watched the mourning mist creep up the mountainsides. Then feeding the animals, comfortable with the knowledge of the wonderful thought. That is…until GOD intervened.

The Mrs brought me dreaded news, it was time for our dreaded monthly trip to the grocery store. It’s a miserable task, to say the least since I rarely venture out among people. It seems with each trip I notice we as a people have slid a bit further down the rabbit hole of whatever the current trend may be. The spectacle worries me in ways I can’t seem to put to paper.

That is until we were standing in a grocery store line, waiting to pay for overpriced groceries, smack in the middle of others who undoubtedly had the same thought.

“What has become of us and when did this happen.”

The lady behind us was slowly and methodically pushing her buggy into my wife’s backside, all the while gazing over the Mrs.’s shoulder, waiting for the cashier to open another lane. Preparing to spring like a Lepard as soon as the light came on, leaving us commoners in the dust. The cashier paid her no mind as she slowly loaded the cash drawer, infuriating the lady to no end.

At that moment, the Mrs. called my attention to a frail elderly gentleman at the end of the line. He stood there, alone and resolute, eyes down and comfortable with his place in the line. His cart held only a few items, a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, some protein drinks, and a couple of other items. He was leaning against his cart, using it as a makeshift walker to ease the strain on his legs. Meager fodder to say the least, yet an increasingly common one for our treasured elderly.

That wonderful wife of mine instantly recognized a need, and with a nod, I got the message.

Sir…Sir… he looked up as I motioned for him to take his place ahead of us.

I’ll be quick he said, I don’t have much.

If I were in a hurry sir, I wouldn’t be in a grocery store, I replied.

This angered the lady behind us to no end and she made certain that everybody in line knew it.

We had a wonderful conversation, that old man and me. He told me about his wife and how she always made him a shopping list which he always lost. He told me of how, after all these years this is the first time he has been worried about his grandchildren’s future. With a handshake, he went on his way leading the two of us to worry about our surviving parents. And the lady behind us was still upset, hissing and blowing just loud enough for all to hear. (Bless her heart).

I was torn as I wrote this post, afraid the true message may be lost in translation. But hopefully, some may get it. Recently a social media friend sent me an article he had read titled, “Humanity is Dying.” I hope he is wrong. I’m not going to expound on this little story that we have just shared. I’m going to leave that to you, the reader.

Is humanity dying?

Have we lost sight of “The least of these?”

Our friends, our neighbors, the stranger in the grocery store that we will never meet again?

The is so much pain and hardship around us, and somewhere in all the static, among the “Look at me” crowd, the “I’m gonna do it because I can” crowd, I believe our “Humanity” is still there. Wounded? yes. But there, just the same.

With so much effort spent in search of our own validation, have we lost sight of “The least of these?” Oh, not that we are bad people, far from it. Maybe we have simply lost sight in the pursuit of.

No…Humanity is not dying, maybe it has been looked over just a bit. No, Humanity is not dying, but it desperately needs us.

Think on that for a bit.

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