Tonight I was in a bit of a rush... I wanted to get to the store, pick up some essentials, and get home. Long days tax me greatly, and I felt taxed. I dread going to Tops... I say EVERY TIME I'M IN THAT STORE that I HATE IT. I hate that store. I don't know the layout, I get half way through the store only to realize that what I was searching for was at the beginning of my efforts. Great. As I finally got to where I could check out, I searched the options. Three cashiers open, one was the "7 items or less" line. I hit that line... even though there were two people ahead of me there. Won't take long, right?
I stood there. A while. My arm has permanent creases in it from the heft of my hand cart. I wasn't thrilled. I finally get my items on the belt only to realize that the woman cashing out had an ENTIRE CART FULL of stuff - in the express isle. That chapped me... what are you doing?! Okay, so then... THEN: she had a minimum of 20 coupons. One of those 'extreme couponers' I thought. Great! I noticed the girl directly in front of me had food stamps laid out on her items. Another 'great' passes through my head, and I sign heavily as I turn to the woman who had come up behind me. "It's a virtue, right? Patience?!" and she smiled at me and said "not when you have somewhere to be." Agreed. We stood in line for several more minutes until the couponer was through. Something had to be done by a manager... yadda yadda. At this point I was rubbing the creases on my arm, chewing my lip and looking around anxiously. The girl with the food stamps started through and every item had a piece of paper that needed signatures and individual implementation into the computer. Then... THEN: something had to be done by a manager. No manager. No manager. NO. MANAGER. We wait. The girl with the food stamps, with her little girl, apologized to us (now 3 shoppers behind her) sheepishly... not once, but twice, as we waited and she finished her purchases. Now here's me... the jerk. I'm tired. I'm frustrated. I'm impatient. I reassured her... but it was limp at best.
At some point during all of this, the woman behind me whispered to me about the initial woman in line with the cart full and coupons. She said "Well, I know she runs the food kitchen in town, so..." she didn't finish. I finished. I said "that deserves our patience then, doesn't it?" and she agreed.
As I got through the line (in record time, no less), I stopped and thought about those two women in front of me in line. One freely and openly gives up her time for the less fortunate in our community who need a meal. The other is one of those very people of our community who could very well use the assistance of that free meal. Two people who, within my impatient and flustered moments, are the ones who we should all stop and make time for. Who we should lend patience to. A helping hand... a merciful hand. I cried as I drove home.
There are moments in my life where the Lord softly taps me on the shoulder and reminds me of what I have, what I am, and what I can be to others. Those are precious moments and I need to realize them as often as possible. It isn't that difficult to stop and think about things in moments like that. Stop the angry thoughts, the frustrated glances... and think. Think about what you have that they don't. Time, money, security. It only takes a moment to breathe deep and think about it. "Hey, relax... look at what you're doing."
The Lord teaches in the most humiliating ways. It wasn't humiliating for me outwardly, but inwardly I was ashamed of my thoughts and actions. The Lord was gentle with me this time. I'm grateful for that. I'm grateful for a lot of things... we all should be.
