Today, I am shopping for not exactly housewares but … word-wares. I locate a shop unlike any other shop I’ve ever come across and step inside:
Wandering about it, my eyes spot Predictability on the rack in its usual conventional attire. Alongside of it hangs Pragmatic, in basic wrinkle-free black. Levity fills the summer rack in bright chiffon prints.
I walk down long aisles until I reach the back wall, where I come upon Frailty. It hangs gingerly on the wall largely out of reach, though my fingers skirt its gossamer hem.
Sifting through shelves, I find Envy and Jealousy. The cost on the price tag reads: steep.
Rumor and Hearsay lie strewn about the half price table.
I catch sight of Bitterness on the remnant table, where a pungency rises in the air.
I turn and walk back to the center, the heart of the store and find delicate crystal vases holding Hope. Death of a loved one lies tenderly in a jar labeled Humility.
I make my way finally to a part of the store I hadn’t noticed before. Off in a far corner and easy to pass by without ever noticing, I find a sturdy oak book shelf and a series of leather bound books entitled: Life. They glow in every color imaginable. Golden bookends flank each side of Life; one bookend is engraved with the word Goodness and the other with Mercy. Sure now that this shall be my purchase, I search for the price tag and find gilded on the bottom of each bookend … free for the asking.
I leave the store, changed and humbled, knowing now that goodness and mercy shall be with me all the days of my life. I want to tell all of you … this is yours, too … free for the asking.
