O come, let us sing unto the Lord;
Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.
Psalm 95:1-2
Today is BLACK FRIDAY - the ultimate American shopping day. Every year the starting time for opening the stores has moved steadily backwards - this year resulting in some stores such as Walmart opening at midnight on Thanksgiving evening (10pm in some locations).
I have never been a fan of Black Friday shopping. The "bargains" never seem to fit into the category that I need, or are still so expensive that I can not afford them. Several years ago, my two younger girls and I traveled to New York City to have Thanksgiving with my oldest daughter. We made the mistake (at least in my mind), of attempting to go shopping at the 34th Street Macy's on Friday. I have never experienced anything like it in my life. Thousands of people, wall to wall, shoulder to shoulder, all wanting to buy the same merchandise and all needing to stand in the same check-out line on all five floors of the store. Store administrative personnel and policemen were at every corner, escalator, and elevator - all trying to keep the peace in utter chaos.
The shoe department was the epitome of the cacophony of confusion: boxes of shoes were strewn everywhere, single shoes tossed aside like scrap paper. What appeared to be ten or twelve sales associates were attempting to assist literally hundreds of irate customers. People were yelling, cursing, and shoving - barely avoiding being trampled as they fought for supremacy. My oldest and youngest reveled in the mess. My middle child and I escaped to the relative serenity of the 54th Street Barnes & Noble.
Wherever your shopping or non-shopping takes you today, I hope you have a day filled with peace and continued thanksgiving. If you are a bargain-hunter, have at it!! If you are not, perhaps you would like to join me in front of the fire with the newspaper and a cup of hot tea.
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