Love Your Grocery Store People

I'm trying to make the gospel real to Kate (my 4-yr-old).  I can get hung up on behavior sometimes, because her behavior really effects me.  It wears me out and it interrupts the peaceful flow of things.  But that's really not the point.  Sometimes her behavior isn't loving to others and I want her to have a concern for those around her.  I want her to be Christ to people.

Sometimes I see my kids as a great hindrance to ministry, because I can't go too many places with 4 kids.  I can hardly talk on the phone.  But there is one place we go very regularly and you can't help but form relationships.  The grocery store.
We've been going to our grocery store for almost 9 years now, and there's something about having little kids that is a huge help in bringing people into relationship with you that you might normally breeze by and never look at.  Kids tend to attract attention and then they tend to engage people in conversations by asking about their moles or why they walk funny.  They'll just tell the deli lady about their day, and before you know it, you know how many kids she has and that this weather makes her back hurt.

Once I walked away from a conversation with the produce man and the girls were a little confused and ask, "Is he our friend?"  I said, "Ya! Of course he's our friend!  We care about Fred.  God cares about Fred."  And a light comes on in their little heads and they begin to understand what the gospel means for us  in the grocery store, or Target, or wherever we go.

So yesterday's grocery store trip was terrible, yet gave us a teachable moment.  We usually go through Cleo's line, because Cleo lets Kate flip the switch that makes the belt go.  Cleo is very generous.  We love her.  She also let's Lola sign for me.  These girls love to help, and Cleo helps us have an exciting check-out experience.
Well, yesterday we went through a new lady's line.  This lady needed her space and Kate didn't understand that.  Poor lady.  She very patiently asked Kate to scoot over so that she could reach the food and get it scanned.  Kate freaked out.  I was trying to talk to her, hold Lola up on the little counter where she usually sits, and keep Kate from shoving into the lady while she pulled away from me.  This was a very embarrassing, sweaty, humbling time where my face turned red and I apologized and asked Kate to apologize, but Kate was not concerned for Betty (that's the name I gave her when talking to Kate, so that Kate would see her as a person.  "Poor Betty").
Later, in the van, I watched Kate's heart melt as we talked about loving Betty, and how her behavior may have hurt Betty and how Betty needs to see Jesus in us.  It was something Kate had never thought about.  I'm not sure it will immediately make grocery store trips a breeze, but we're planting the seed.

I understand some days are darn hard, and it's all you can do to drag your feet through the store.  My 2 cents is, drink your coffee, and at least try to make eye contact and smile.  I think we're called to do it.