The groceries were piling up on the belt at the checkout line. The woman in front of me only had half her groceries sacked while she, the cashier, myself and the person behind me waited in line in the midst of a grocery traffic jam.
What was the holdup?
Normally in a situation like this, I get impatient, wondering why they can’t get enough employees to sack groceries fast enough or open up enough lanes so I don’t have to sit and wait all day. But I looked closer and realized the guy bagging the groceries was learning disabled.
Everyone was being patient while the guy slowly put the groceries in the bags. (Though I wondered why the cashier didn’t help him while she stood there and watched him work!) The guy was probably 18 or 20 years old and kept his head down the whole time.
Everyone was patient and polite, maybe because it was only morning and not a busy time. When he finished, the person in front of me smiled and rolled her cart out. Usually, I would just wait in a situation like this and when my bags were ready, just take them and go.
But then I thought of something different.
As the guy was bagging my stuff, I checked his name tag, looked him in the eye and said: “Hey, John! How’s it going?”
He was quite shocked! I doubt many customers called him by name. He stared at me for a few seconds and didn’t say a word and went back to his work.
Now I didn’t do anything big but it got me to thinking that we should start looking people in the eye and calling them by their name — people you don’t know and maybe people you would normally politely look the other way.
Jesus once said when you help the poor and hungry, you are really helping him. It’s a small thing but we should have a loving attitude to everyone we meet — even our enemies!
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. Hebrews 6:10
If you are going through a tough time, it helps to see outside yourself and look at the needs of others. When you do, you’ll actually help yourself!
Do you every do simple, random acts of kindness? Drop a comment in the box!
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