Food, clothes, & a fight

By 7:30 AM, we’d missed it.  We only heard about it.  The fight had been at 6:30 in the parking lot, beginning with an argument over who would be first in line this Saturday.  Our chaplain in charge had the distinct pleasure of addressing the fracas.  Driving up to find police on the premises leads some people to turn around from church and go home, yet really we’re trying to lay out a welcome mat.  Regardless of how the squabble began, the Lord did bring good from it.  “…many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”  One of our volunteers wisely shared these words from Matthew 19:30.  With our whole group, he traced back the years, recounting that the Lord had always provided for this ministry, and on no occasion had the church ever run out of food or clothes.  No one needed to push his way to the front, and in fact a wonderful gesture would have been for someone to voluntarily exchange his front spot for a place further back in line.  On that note, heads nodded in agreement.  People took turns telling of the Lord’s blessings, praising Him especially for many accounts of healing.  Some took extra time to pray, even praying without concern for losing their turn in the receiving line.  When word of the fight had initially spread amongst our guests, gasps of appallment floated in the air, yet the scenario held a lesson in humility for us all.  Reconsider those other times we want to be first.  We disregard the express checkout sign that designates 10 items or less, just so we can finish quicker.  We drink the last of the orange juice when honestly we knew someone else wanted it.  We edge out a parking slot to the dismay of another driver.  We think again.