It was March 12, 2020.
The pandemic had started to sweep across the U.S. People went to stores in droves, buying up anything and everything in anticipation of being on lockdown. My husband and I joined that fray, and waited in line at our local wholesale club after finding the last carriage in the very full parking lot. While our usual weekday trips to the store have us in and out in less than half an hour, this trip took closer to three hours as the checkout line went to the very back of the store, and then snaked around again to the front.
There was no toilet paper to be seen on the shelves, nor any paper towels. The disinfecting wipe aisle was completely empty. There was no chicken, meat, or pizza. No one in the store knew what would be coming, so we were all buying what we could. People stood right next to each other in the long lines, not yet following any type of distancing guidelines. I had never seen anything like this in my life and took photos of the long rows of empty shelves.
May 2021
While our stores now have plenty of wipes, masks, toilet paper, and paper towels, we are now in the midst of a chlorine shortage, brought about by a terrible fire at a chlorine plant, coupled with massive growth in swimming pool installations during 2020 as people stayed home instead of vacationing. After trips to several stores and several phone calls, we finally found some chlorine. Due to the economics of supply and demand, we paid far more than we did in the prior year.
Thinking about the Great Chlorine Shortage of 2021, and the Wipe-TP-Paper Towel Shortage of 2020, got me thinking about the economics of supply and demand. For the above-mentioned items, the supply simply could not keep up with the demand.
Thankfully, there is no economic problem when it comes to the supply of God’s love. His steadfast love endures forever. Over and over and over, His word tells us this. We don’t need to wait in line for it, we don’t need to spend all our money on it, we don’t need to fight with others for it. We just need to let Him know we want it. When we come to Him in faith, realizing that we are wretched sinners in need of His forgiveness, he lavishes His love and forgiveness upon us, and even considers us to be an heir with Jesus Christ.
And that brings a peace that surpasses all understanding.
Next time you are hit with a supply and demand issue that tests your patience and pocketbook, remember that God’s love does not have a limit. Fill up with it – and share it with others.
Romans 8:38-39 – “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
