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Has anyone ever told you we shouldn't pray for patience? Well, yeah, I forgot that today as I was shopping for groceries.
I don't know about you, but going to the grocery is the least of my favorite weekly tasks. I have three teenagers, two of them boys, who are bottomless pits. We can quickly go through some food!
The shopping went easily enough. I scanned my list, dropped items into my cart, and ticked off tally-marks to stay within budget. (Sidenote: I only take cash with me to the grocery. It's a fantastic way to keep Oreos out of the cart!)
I was finished fairly fast with all the aisles, and came upon a long line with only one cashier. Inwardly sighing, I resolved to simply wait with patience. I'm working on living out this verse, Ephesians 4:2 and have trouble remembering and following it!
After a few minutes, another cashier opened her station and motioned over the next-in-line customer. She pushed her cart, brimming with groceries, to form the new line. Slowly, one-at-a-time, she pulls each item from the cart onto the conveyor. At this point, I'm having an inner-discussion going something like this:
"Deep breath, Larri. You're not in any hurry today.
You have nowhere to go except home to unload these groceries.
You're not on a deadline.
Maybe this lady is just enjoying being out and about around people."
followed up with:
"Lord, please help me keep my patience in check."
God must have had His ear right ready to hear that prayer. In the next moment, as I have forced a pleasant look upon my face, the lady turns her focus past the next-in-line, and eyeballs me. She shouts in a very thick drawl, "Could you grab me some Cool Whip?"
I was a bit taken aback, mostly because I was still praying for patience.
I managed to squeak, "Beg pardon?"
She smiled and persisted, "You know...Cool Whip. The frozen whipped cream in the tub?"
The cashier sort of had a look of horror on her face at the audacity. Pointing, she meekly said to me, "It's just over there next to the ice cream."
Finally, my brain engaged with the rest of me, and I said, "Sure! Be right back."
I scurried back to the frozen section, pulled out a tub of Cool Whip, and handed it up the line. The lady hollered back, "Thanks, hon!"
And I just laughed all the way home, thanking God for the giggle.
I prayed for patience...and He gave me a right nice test of it.
How has your patience been tested this week?
How did you respond in that moment?
