Monday, November 24, 2008

Prepare for Thanksgiving via Wal Mart

OK...in a few moments I will be shopping at Wal Mart. I have a love-hate affair with the store. I dislike how large it is, I dislike the mostly rude staff who will barely clear the aisle while they converse so you can push the grocery basket down the aisle, and I dislike the 49 check out stands which are always closed. The self service check outs are open, I refuse to use them, maybe I should pray about that. If I am going to spend money at Wal Mart, they should give me a little service by ringing up my purchases, right? (is that pride?) They will have 2 or 3 cashiers and 1 or 2 will be at the express lanes. I love one thing about Wal Mart, the prices are lower than Kroger and HEB. When I am buying a Butterball turkey and staples I will save money. I will buy all the produce at HEB or Kroger tomorrow morning. I end up repenting a lot at Wal Mart and on the way home.

In some ways Wal Mart is an indicator of where I am on my Christian walk. I mean why be so upset by the size and lack of service at the store. In the big picture - it doesn't matter. What matters is that I handle Wal Mart with grace. I would like to think Wal Mart is a thorn in my flesh, but I know that's just not true. Why do I let my thoughts become so negative and sinful in Wal Mart? It's ridiculous. I should be thankful I am saving money, I should be thankful I live in a country in which we celebrate a Thanksgiving holiday. I should be thankful we still have freedom in America. I could buy a Bible in Wal Mart, I could buy a Christian novel in Wal Mart - I should be thankful for Wal Mart sells these items. And most of all, as I stand in line for eons, I should look at that as extra time in prayer and be thankful.

By now, most of you probably think I need healing prayer or to see a mental health professional. I'll end the post with this:

But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "The LORD be exalted!"

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

I am off to Wal Mart to let my gentleness be evident and spend some time with the Lord.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Great post! What is HEB?

Abba's Girl said...

HEB is a Texas grocery chain, their founders donated a lot of money to various Christian outreach ministries.

Karen said...

girl, we could have been twins. I too have "issues" with Walmart. as a matter of fact, we are almost to the time that I stop shopping there for the holidays. However, they have lower prices than anybody else. Maybe I'll just go in at 5 a.m. Of course, if I do, there will only be one check out lane open. sounds like we both need grace! Loved this post! (maybe I should have put a picture of walmart on my video so I would have to be thankful!)

love,
karen

Abba's Girl said...

Oh Karen, I knew I was in trouble when the greeter said good morning, pushed a cart my way and said I hope it works. One or more of the wheels was so squeaky, I think I could be heard 4 or 5 aisles away from my location.

luvmy4sons said...

LOL! Oh I can't imaigne any one of us thinks you are crazy. Don't we all go through the same kind of thing...OH! The craziness of Wal-Mart...I tell myself it is more time to pray as well as I wait in line. Patience training...Hugs to you!

Dee said...

Hello, My name is Dee, I have been enjoying your blog and wit. i especially love that you have the salvation prayer at the end of your blog. I get tired of going to Walmart, i live in a blink and miss town and walmart is about all we have, and its 10 miles away. The one good thing about my Walmart store is the people are great and will bend over backwards to help you. It may be that they are all related to each other,or are neighbors or attend the same churches. (:0) Gotta love small towns. I hope to be back to visit you some time. Please feel free to stop and visit me at my humble blog any time. Dee <><

Linda said...

I really had to smile over this one Annette. I think we've all felt exactly the same way. The Commissary was so crowded today the line ran the length of the whole store. So we resorted to the "to it yourself" check-out. It really wasn't too bad, and in our case we saved money by not having to tip the bagger!
I think it is true of anything in life that gives us a hard time - we can choose to let the Lord use it to "refine our character". Not always easy, but I think you're on to something!

Wendy said...

Oh my goodness - you have issues with Walmart too?? I agree with almost all your comments so far. Nobody will think you're crazy. Your message is clear. Patience is a virtue and I try to practice it when I'm standing in line.

I love the self-serve checkout cashes. I have found money there! Really!! I would never take money if the person had just left. In fact, I told one young lady to pick up her $10.00 change. She was looking so confused, she would have left it there.

And I check the prices myself as they are scanning. So I think it's fun.
Happy shopping!

twinkle said...

I avoid Walmart.
I guess you know one of their workers was killed opening the doors for Black Friday shopping yesterday. In New York.
So sad, but honestly, I'm not surprised.