Back To Home Page To Archives - Spring of Life - H. Roger Bothwell So Close It bordered on cruelty. I was standing in a grocery store checkout line behind what looked like a three-year-old little girl. She was a Shirley Temple look-alike and with the sweetest smile she asked her mom for a piece of candy. Now, I approve of parents not giving children candy each time they ask, but this time the refusal was abominably mean. This little girl was not only eye level but also nose level with the candy. As she stood there the candy was at times but an inch away. First she sniffed the Three Musketeers Bars, then the Snickers, then the Mounds, and then the Krackels. My imagination was in high gear and I could completely empathize. Soon my nostrils were quivering and I was salivating. Obediently she did not touch but oh she was so close. She was better than Eve. Remember this? "The woman saw that the tree was beautiful, that its fruit was good to eat. So she took some of its fruit and ate it." Ouch. Nothing was ever the same again. I am so glad the story does not end there. Paul continues it in Romans 5:19, "One man disobeyed God, and many became sinners. In the same way, one man obeyed God, and many were made righteous." That's a much better ending. As I watched the little girl and her mom leave it was my turn to stand by the candy. I was more fortunate than the Shirley Temple look-alike. It was not at my nose. It was by my knee. So I too made it out of the store without any. I'm Roger Bothwell and my address is roger.bothwell@verizon.net or 151 Old Farm Rd. Leominster, MA 01453. Thank you for your support of our faith ministry. Past devotionals can be accessed at Archives