Horn of Plenty

 

 

"Horn of Plenty - A symbolic hollow horn, filled with the inexhaustible gifts of fruits and vegetables..."

I took a break in the action today and finished my grocery shopping. I hit two different stores (we hit a third one yesterday). The reason for three stores is simple -  coupons and selection. We could have found everything at the same store. But we are fussy and cheap. We have preferences on certain brands and store layout. Plus, we love to use coupons to save a few bucks.

Every now and again I get stopped in my tracks. I am overwhelmed with guilt. Not guilt for what we have - the guilt of taking what we have for granted. I have been in grocery stores in different parts of the world. I have lived in a third world country for 18 months when I was in the service. The vast majority of people in this world would not believe their eyes if they saw the inside of any one of our grocery stores.

In our grocery stores, different perishable foods are stored in different cases. The reason is they want the best possible temperature for every item to maximize shelf life. It seems like every item, perishable or not, has a "use by" date. Store employees are constantly going through the fruits and vegetables and picking out the ones which are starting to look "a bit long in the tooth". Those are gathered up and thrown away. The irony is this - over half of the world's population would give their eyeteeth for any of those "old" fruits and vegetables we throw into the garbage.

I came home and put the groceries away before I started my yard work again. In just a bit, I will light the grill, and cook the two Porterhouse steaks I bought for tonight to (I hope) perfection. Tomorrow we are having our family Easter celebration. We have a ham saved with all the trimmings. And all this I constantly take for granted. I forget just how blessed this country is. How this country leads the world in food sciences. How this country is the breadbasket for grains which feed many countries. How nobody starves to death in this country unless it is a deliberate act.

Well, that is it in a nutshell. Oh yes, speaking of nutshells, I also bought some peanuts in the shell also at the store today. So, I will wrap this up and start the grill soon. Tonight when we say grace, I will once again thank God for the Horn of Plenty he has blessed this country with. I will ask to be reminded what He has commanded of us - that those who have been blessed must also bless others.