Our local Family Dollar was having its Grand Reopening on Saturday. I had a few things I wanted to get so I headed over. After all you received a $5.00 gift card, and that would cover most of what I needed. Free is a great way to go.
When I got in line, I was about seven people back. There was only one cash register open. It turned out this was the only guy working the whole store. As the line grew, everyone became reasonably upset. The guy did his best to appease the customers, but there wasn’t much he could do to fix the issue. In this day of “I-don’t-care-about-anyone-but-me”, Family Dollar is lucky this kid didn’t decide to leave. Family Dollar could have lost a whole lot more than the mere minimum wage they should have paid to have some help for this guy.
Instead this young man showed grace and patience when under fire. He did his job, not wearing a smile, but not rude either. Exacerbation hung over him. I felt terrible for the guy.
At first I was going to contact Family Dollar to complain since they should have had at least one or two others in the store. After all, this had been an “event” advertised in the newspaper. The manager or district manager should have known it would have been busier than normal. However, by the time I arrived home, I’d lost some of my aggravation.
I did contact Family Dollar, but instead of venting my frustration, I let them know what a good job this man did. He deserved a pat on the back for holding up like he did.
It is at times like this that we, as customers, must show grace. The same grace we expect from the Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast. There are plenty of times God has heaped his grace upon us when we didn’t deserve it. However, when the time comes for us to be patient and forgiving of another, we have a tendency to lack.
We need to remember that no matter what we do God will always love us and accept us. We are His children. Like a loving father He wants to hold us close. We need to show that same type of love to others we come in contact with.
Everyone sins. We all lose patience with others. We hate to stand in lines, wait in traffic. The list goes on and on. But being children of God means we should have the ability to be calm during situations we have no control over.
And we especially need to show love and grace to those who have no control over their own situations either. For instance, if a car stalls on the highway, instead of getting discouraged, pray for that person’s safety and a quick resolution. Also for patience from the other drivers. Haven’t we all been in this predicament? It would be so much nicer for this driver to have others praying for them instead of honking their horns.
The same goes for a young man thrown into a store by himself with a long line of angry customers. Pray you show him the grace God has shown you numerous times. It will make you both feel a whole lot better about the situation.
When was the last time you showed someone grace? Please share it in the comment section. I’d love to hear from you.
