A Shoney’s restaurant in our town closed a few years ago.  (It’s opening back up in the next couple of months…).  When it did, the sale of Hot Fudge Cakes went down drastically.  Like, went down to 0.  Declined pretty steadily overnight.  Basically hit a brick wall.

I used to love Hot Fudge Cakes.  Everyone I know that ever had one loved them.  My friend Carol used to tell me she was going to use her nutrition degree from my favorite university to help the USDA pass a requirement that all Americans should have a Hot Fudge Cake daily.  They were fantastic.  But, you know… it became really hard to get one.  Why?  Because the place that sold them closed.  So you couldn’t just walk in to a Shoney’s in our town and either purposefully or by accident see a Hot Fudge Cake on the menu and go, “I want one of THOSE!”

Could you make one at home?  Probably.  It wouldn’t be the same, but you could try.  Could you order one by phone or internet from a Shoney’s home office or another restaurant location somewhere in the world?  Well, that would be a huge stretch.  I mean, you’d have to go completely out of your way to even see if that were possible.  And if it were, it would just take a lot more effort on your part.  I mean, you’d REALLY have to want one to go to those lengths.

Yesterday, I saw an article that Lifeway Christian Stores has decided to close all their brick and mortar locations all over the United States.  I just sat there for a moment.  After the shock wore off, I thought about my friend Mike, who has been the manager at the Lifeway in our city since our college days I suppose, which stretches into its fourth decade.  What will Mike do?  What will all the other 170 managers, along with hundreds of employees, do?  Then I thought about the company that I used to work for, Family Christian Stores, which closed all its locations a couple of years ago.  A profound sadness hit me.  Because of all the sweat, footsteps, and headaches equity that has gone into keeping those doors open as long as it did.  And of course, for all the good times, the blessings, the ministry, the satisfaction over so many years.  Not just for me, but for Robert, Bonnie, Ame, Peggy, Davey and many, many others.  And then… it hit me…

There is no more.

I pondered the thought for a moment.  Was I overreacting?  Was there information that I was not seeing?  Or… was I spot on?

“No more what?”, you might be asking.  No more stores.  No more ACCESS.  I mean, yeah – you can still buy a Bible, a book, a card, a CD (?), or something that you REALLY want.  But you would have to 1) really want it, and 2) expend a little more effort to get it.  Because that item will not be in your hands any more.  You will not be able to go into a store, and see an item – possibly that you didn’t intend to see – and physically purchase the item.  There are no more Hot Fudge Cakes, and there are no more Bibles available.  Because the store that sells them closed.

I know what you’re thinking.  “Yes, Peyton, you are overreacting because you have a small emotional attachment to this particular line of products.”  Ok – I get that.  But that’s where the pondering came in.  The more I thought about it, the more the emotional attachment faded into a reality that, whether I am attached to it or not – the products are just not going to be in front of you any more.  Period.

And what’s the significance of that?  Well, it’s fairly obvious.  When Shoney’s closed, there weren’t a lot of Hot Fudge Cakes to be had by the people of our fair town, whether they wanted one or not.  (My humble but accurate opinion is that if they had ever tried one, they would want another one!) And when the Christian bookstore closes, there won’t be many purely Christian products to be had, whether they want one or not.  I know they will still be available from 1) Mom and Pop shops all over the nation, which are few and far between (I used to own one, so I know why they are few and far between.), 2) small displays in stores such as Wal-mart, Hobby Lobby and a few other unique locations such as church bookstores, and 3) the almighty Amazon and others who offer products online (including Lifeway).  But the main place that first popped into your mind when you thought about buying Aunt Susie a Bible will now be closed.  The place that you could go browse through if you so chose,  and inadvertently find something you needed (whether you knew it beforehand or not) will now be closed.  The lighthouse, if you will, that represented the place that housed so many items that fed your Spiritual life, will now be closed.

And because you won’t have access to those products, chances are that your Spiritual life might not get fed as often or as thoroughly.

And what about the people who normally don’t make time to feed it?  Reckon they will make the extra effort to 1) seek out a Mom and Pop shop, 2) try to find the small display with 10 or so items on it at Wal-Mart, or 3) go online and search for a product that might help them in ways they don’t even know about?

I know it’s a stretch to say that this occurrence represents a hindrance to the continued Spiritual health of a nation, and therefore the world.  God doesn’t need a bookstore to grow or feed His Church, to spread the Gospel, or minister to the needs of people who desperately need it .  But it absolutely does give this world one thing – ACCESS.  In our convenience-ruled society, access is huge.  The harder it is to access an item, the less it is going to be used, or even sought after.  “Out of sight, out of mind?”  Not totally, but probably more than we know.  This nation as a whole doesn’t show any signs of putting forth great effort into doing what it takes to grow closer to the Lord.  Who knows what a culture that does not have the Word of God accessible to them in a convenient location looks like?  We don’t know.  Maybe people will be forced into disciplining themselves to go the extra mile to get what they need – whether they know they need it or not.  Or maybe they will not.  But we are about to find out…

Can somebody send me the recipe and all the ingredients for a Hot Fudge Cake…?