February 3 – “Great day at WalMart”

I met a new friend at Walmart yesterday.  She was one of the checkers in the 20 or less items line.  Now the customer in front of me apparently had complained bitterly that the person in front of him had the nerve to go through the line two whole items over the twenty limit.  He had spent his entire purchasing experience griping at the checker for allowing such a horrible breach of etiquette.  Needless to say she was at best saddened and at worst more than a little perturbed by his reactions. 

So I told her I appreciated the smile that she had obviously saved up for me.  Her entire outlook changed in an instant.  She began to explain what the prior customer had done, and I interjected little things like, “But you handled it well,” and “You sure seem fine now.”  Before long she said, “You know, it don’t matter what he says.  I know who I am and I know whose I am and that’s all that matters.”  Bing, bing, bing.   I told her, “Hey, that sounded pretty biblical.  I think I agree with you.”  And then I shared one of my favorite sayings, “Look at it this way.  The Bible says everything’s gonna be OK in the end.  If it’s not OK, it’s not the end.”  She pondered it for a moment, then chuckled and said, “I’m gonna hold onto that one.”  I told her to have a blessed day, and she offered me the same.  It sure makes the whole checkout experience go faster and more pleasant when it ends with a smile. 

Then I got a real bonus.  Sarah, the other checker we have made friends with, saw me.  She’s the one we fried a turkey for at Thanksgiving.  She ran up to me and gave me a big bear hug.  Wow.  Great day at WalMart.

Psalms 64:9-10 says, “All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done.  Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in him; let all the upright in heart praise him!”

Father, thank you for the joy of connecting with other believers in the most unlikely of places.  Amen.