We had a lovely day yesterday. We didn’t get up particularly early. We didn’t wait in line at all during the day. We didn’t experience any pushing or shoving. We didn’t find we had to race and rush to accomplish our goals. We didn’t overextend our credit cards. We had a leisurely lunch in an uncrowded place. We had a calm dinner with pleasant conversation. There was very little that was black about the day for us. The sun was bright and shining even though the temperatures were a bit cold compared to recent weeks around here. It was pleasant to venture outdoors.

We didn’t watch any television, so we weren’t influenced by stories of frenzied shoppers and we weren’t annoyed by the empty rantings of candidates. We took all of the advertisements out of the newspaper and put them into the recycling bin, so there wasn’t much to look at there and it just took a few minutes to scan the headlines and read an article or two.

It was a nice day. I hope it felt that way for others.

I spent a couple of hours in the middle of the day working on the service for a funeral today. I read the obituary of a dear friend who died last week and set in motions plans to attend his funeral. I spoke on the phone with a few friends and made a few arrangements for church activities this weekend. Compared to most days, it was relaxed and comfortable.

The arrangement of days and the schedule of a pastor means that there are rarely times the we take more than one day off each week. The concept of weekend doesn’t really apply in our profession because Saturday is much about preparing for Sunday and Sunday is about leading worship and being with people. I sometimes comment to folks that Thanksgiving weekend is the only three day weekend in our calendar. But, of course, the realities of life mean that taking three days off for Thanksgiving works some years and doesn’t work other years. I’m not meaning to complain. We have a good life. But I am aware that it is different from the lives of some of the people that I serve.

I’m sure that there are plenty of articles about why people behave the way that they do on Black Friday. I’m sure that there are some who enjoy the hustle and bustle and the feeling that they found a special bargain. The sense of going after a limited supply of very special products at very special prices gives a sensation that one is unique and different from others. Even the online stores try to create a climate of scarcity by displaying the number of remaining items in inventory, making shoppers think that if they don’t act quickly they might miss the product or the price.

And I know that shopping is a bigger part of holiday preparation for some than it is for us. We like to give presents to family and friends and we like to have nice things to give, but it definitely isn’t our highest holiday preparation priority. If we don’t find the perfect present for the holidays, we might do better at a birthday or some other time during the year.

For us, the gift of time is a precious and limited item. I was able to spend most of two days with my wife and sister. We talked and listened. We got on the computer and Skyped with our daughter and son in law and with our son and his family. We read a few pages in our books. We took time for one another. It was a luxury that was delightful - a rare kind of day for us. Too often I rise early and rush through my chores to get to work and accomplish a list of tasks working toward a deadline. I know that deadlines are important to accomplishing goals. I know that the flow of people’s lives means that there are things that need to be done on a schedule. I know that there are expectations that can turn into pressures. So it is nice to have a couple of days of rest and relaxation.

In the midst of the holiday we did receive a phone call from a telemarketer. It certainly made me sad to think of a low-paid person spending the day talking to people who didn’t want to be talking, many of whom were rude or even verbally abusive on the phone. I doubt if it was a good time for sales for the marketer. I know that the person had many other things she would have liked to be doing. There are people who get caught up doing bad jobs in order to survive.

The people who pick up the garbage probably had an extra long day yesterday with all of the holiday trans - that after having to do double duty earlier in the week in order to take Thursday off. But at least they got Thursday off. There were folks in the retail trade for whom there were no days off this week.

We are interesting creatures. i’m not sure I know why we behave the way that we do. There are probably astute psychologists who can explain all of this. Some of them work for the large retail outlets and advise them on how to create the excitement for holiday shopping. Whatever it is that attracts the big crowds isn’t very appealing to me.

For some people appearing as winners is important. They develop strategies to get the best bargains and make plans to organize their Black Friday forays into the marketplace so that they get the best bargains and edge out the competition for limited numbers of items. They will be able to brag about the bargains that they have scored for weeks.

It all works out pretty well. Some of the strategic shoppers got what they wanted at a price that makes them happy. Meanwhile, I feel like a winner without even having entered the contest.

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