Although I’m usually very fast when pushing my cart along the aisles at a brightly lit supermarket, I stop and read labels and compare prices before I start to shuffle through a few coupons. There are so many options that I don’t know what to do with all of them.
As I race from shelf to shelf looking for items for my Thanksgiving shopping list, I get frustrated by insignificant things. I was missing my favorite stuffing mix, so another brand took its place.
Midway through the shop, I lost the lemons I had on my shopping list. They were clearly visible right before I reached the check-out lane. To retrieve them, I had to go back to the front of store. Many things were missing from the shelves, where I used to find them. It took me a while to find what I was looking for, but I did eventually find it. I gave up on finding the item I wanted and asked for assistance from a clerk. He smiled and directed me down the right lane, pointing out the item that I needed. As is the case with most shoppers, I was able to leave with all of my items and many more.
After three quarters of my groceries had been rung up at check out, the subtotal appeared. I was shocked by the figure. The final number made me swallow hard. However, my sheaf coupons helped to ease the pain. At that moment, I felt grateful for the hours I spent clipping coupons while I sat in my recliner watching TV at night. Actually, there were many things I could be thankful for, such as the fact that the coupons were accepted at the store and they were readily available. Even more important was the fact that I could actually pay for what I purchased.
These fleeting thoughts, accompanied by a prayer, came back to me when my husband read a book listing a program of “second-mile mission giving,” which was sponsored by the United Methodist Churches. It was focused on Europe’s needs, and some war-torn countries.
A quick glance at the programs showed me that my small frustrations with grocery shopping were not significant. I was reminded that Americans tend to take their blessings for granted.
We must not forget to give thanks to God for the abundance of blessings we share with others who are less fortunate.
I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday filled with joy, a full Thanksgiving table and blessed with friends and family.
The post Let’s Not Take Our Blessings for granted was first published on The AndalusiaStar-News.
