Rations

 

When my children were young, every summer included a trip from Chattanooga to Maryland to visit Grandad and grandma.  Often, we would plan a day trip to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  On one such trip, we were driving on PA 340 past Intercourse almost to White Horse and I turned north into the countryside just to look around.  We found an Amish house farm having a yard sale.  We stopped and walked around to the barn and were immediately swept back into history.  The old barn was filled with junk from a bygone era.  And I do mean junk.  Upstairs in a pile of papers, my wife found an old ration book from World War II.  She bought it for a dollar.  Later, I showed it to my grandfather, Acel Epperly, who had lived through World War II.  He explained that in order to conserve materials, many commodities were rationed during the war.  You received a ration book from the War Department and had to use the ration script to buy items that were in short supply.  Your weekly ration was one egg, two ounces each of tea and butter, an ounce of cheese, eight ounces of sugar, four ounces of bacon and four ounces of margarine.  Of course, families multiplied these rations by the number of people in their household.  Items were rationed so that soldiers fighting overseas had the food that they needed.  Hey, I am glad that the dear Lord doesn’t ration us!  He gives of His bountiful supplies, and His children have everything that they need.  But more than physical needs, the Lord gives us His spiritual blessings.  Paul said in Ephesians 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”  I am blessed beyond measure by my heavenly Father.  I am thankful that He doesn’t ration me; He gives to me bountifully!