Receipts

We’ve all had to do it.  Probably multiple times. It’s something I really don’t like doing for some reason.  But live long enough and eventually you will have to deal with it.  The dreaded return of an item!

Maybe it’s my retail background.  My first real job as a teenager was working at JC Penney.  Returns meant big headaches and usually crabby customers. Or maybe it’s my luck.  I can promise you that I will choose the 1 out of 20 on a shelf that’s cracked, missing a bolt, knob or instructions – Every Time!

This time was pretty easy.  I bought some of those doggie steps for our Maize dog who seems to be a little too short to get to all the places she finds important.  You know, the sofa and the bed.  Turns out what I found wasn’t her style and she politely declined to use them.  So, back to the store it went.

I was prepared.  I had left the tag on it and of course, more importantly, kept the receipt.  Seems stores always want you to have the receipt to show that you bought the item from them and currently own it.  The gal at the register was nice, took just a few minutes and I was relieved of the unfashionable steps, according to Maize dog, and the money refunded back.  I chuckled to myself on the way out about how proud I was to have kept the receipt.  That’s when it hit me. Receipts.

Defined as “proof, evidence; acknowledgement of receiving goods or money.”  Sometimes receipts are an afterthought.  Did I really need a piece of paper showing I bought a cheeseburger that I really didn’t need? Sometimes they are way too much – looking at you CVS and your 10-foot receipts!  Our society requires them though.  For Returns, for Insurance, for complex legal transactions.  They are all forms of receipts.

Proof though.  That’s the bottom line. In our present culture that makes us question everything, what receipts do I have?  What things do I have or can show “proof” of that are really important?

I can say I’m a good driver, or a good gardener but do I have “receipts” to prove it?  My insurance agent and my pantry can vouch for those things.  But what about my love for my family?  Can I show proof – do I have receipts?

Sometimes we have receipts for things we really don’t want to have them for. I know my life is filled with mistakes and bad decisions that I can show receipts for but wish I didn’t have. Wish those were lost or ran through the washer.  But often those “bad receipts” have helped me grow and become a better person once I finally looked at the receipt and owned it.

What about my faith?  Anyone can talk about having faith but are there receipts? In Matthew 7 Christ reminds us that a good tree bears good fruit – shows it’s receipts. 

So next time you are cleaning your car or your pockets and find those pesky receipts or try to return something without one, think of the things in your life that you have receipts for and give thanks.  Or maybe it’s something you thought you had but after searching, just couldn’t find the receipt for it and make a plan for ownership.