Rain Checks

Going to the store to make a purchase of a sale item, only to discover the stock was in short supply and depleted has resulted in Rainchecks for years, now.  There is a day coming in which rainchecks will not be redeemed.

I'm now wondering if the term itself, is not a reminder of  "as in the days of Noah."

We have so distanced ourselves from our actual food supply, and the land, it could literally be days, even weeks before the reality became evident.  Here is just a very simple example of our current food chain as opposed to what our Creator provided and the way humanity has lived for centuries.  Actually, it's only been in the last century that it changed.

From the time of creation, man was to tend the garden and eat the produce, preserving some seeds.  The next year, plant those seeds, tend the garden and eat the produce.  This process was to be repeated annually, taking a break the seventh year.  That was the food supply and how it was supplied.  Food went from garden to table or stove, and was preserved for the season of dormancy.

We now have Big Ag and a global market, and the only land that is rested, is land that is not being used at all.  That means very few are actually tending any garden, including the owners of big ag.  The produce is then harvested and sorted to be shipped to various locations depending upon whether it will be sold fresh, canned, frozen, or as an ingredient in prepared products.  Once that occurs, the fresh must still move rapidly, although it's obviously days away from anyone's table.

It is then shipped to grocery supply warehouses, where it will most likely be delivered by truck to retail grocery markets or "food clubs" to which some are referred.  When these items are advertised specials, and the demand exceeds the supply, rain checks may be distributed according to the policy of the market.  From this very simple, yet direct example of the Big Ag produce to the dining room table, it becomes easy to see that we have "created" an unnatural food chain.  Any breakdown or glitch could be virtually unnoticed for more than a week, and we exist with the assumption that an empty shelf will be refilled.

I've seen bare shelves due to advertised sale items.  I've seen bare shelves due to tragedy with people just buying anything we thought someone in need could use.  I've seen bare shelves because snow or ice was predicted, but I've always, always assumed the shelves would be restocked and back to normal when "things" got back to normal.  Whether "things" are prices, events, or weather; our "normal" is far from the plan of our Creator.

Rain checks often come with an expiration date, which is assumed to be a deadline for the customer.  What happens the day, the rain check expires because the shelf was never restocked?