Through Cracked Glass: Grace for God’s fractured and imperfect children
Excerpt from Section 3 – Serving
Chapter 5 – A Little Lamb
My feet were beginning to hurt like they tended to do after a few hours into my shift. But that’s retail work for you. There’s not any sitting down happening unless you’re on your scheduled 15-minute break or your 30-minute timed lunch.
But it was a sunny day, which always made me more cheerful, and they had put me on the self-scans, where I preferred to be. But I guess I should back up just a bit.
The previous year, I had packed up my Chevy Malibu and driven across the country from Arizona to Michigan, after resigning from my good-paying job and emptying out my condo. As you know from previous chapters, my mom had been diagnosed with dementia/Alzheimer’s, and I knew Dad would be needing some help. We had decided to keep Mom at home for as long as possible, so I moved in and assisted where I could. But I still had a car payment to make, so I also had to find some part-time work, and retail was about the extent of what I could locate. The pay was super low, but it was better than nothing.
I enjoyed working the self-scans because it was fast-paced, and it gave me the opportunity to interact with tons of people for just a few minutes at a time. I guess it was a little like speed dating. I enjoyed keeping my area neat and tidy, and the equipment clean and in good working order. It’s funny how such simple things can bring us pleasure.
There were some fascinating personalities that would come into the store and it was a fun diversion to be able to interact with them, if only for a couple of minutes. A few wooden benches had been placed across the wall at the front of the store, and it was common to see some of our elderly patrons sitting there for an hour or more waiting for, usually a wife, to complete her shopping. I remember one time a gentleman had been sitting there for an extended wait, and I became a little concerned. I went over to him and jokingly asked if he needed me to contact DFS (Department of Family Services) on his behalf. We both had a good laugh. Just about that time, his wife walked up to the check-out with a cart loaded with all kinds of things she’d found.
There was another elderly gentleman who would come to the store every week. He could barely walk, shuffling slowly down the aisle. He had had some surgery on his foot, so we would cheer him on as he did some of his physical therapy right there in the store, and he would give us a huge smile, as we clapped for him. One day, I noticed his shoelace was untied, so I ran up to him, put my hand on his shoulder to get his attention, then knelt down and tied his shoe.
On one afternoon there was a lull in the busyness, and a middle-aged woman walked up and began scanning the items in her cart. She picked one item up, looked at it pensively, and started to put it off to the side. She glanced up and saw me watching her.
“Is it ok for me to put this down if I’ve decided I don’t want it?” she asked.
“Sure, but I can take it for you. It’s not a problem.” I walked up to her and accepted the small, stuffed lamb she held out to me. It was on clearance for $5.99. “This is so adorable!” I exclaimed. “If you don’t want it, I just might buy it myself.” I pressed the sticker over the little lamb’s heart, and it began to sing that old Sunday School song, Jesus loves me.
Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so,
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
Yes, Jesus loves me,
The Bible tells me so.
I looked back at her, and she said, hesitantly, “Can I ask you a question? I need your opinion on something.”
“Of course!” I replied.
“I was going to get it for my daughter’s best friend, but I’m afraid she’s too old and might think a stuffed animal is for babies.”
“Why, how old is she?” I asked.
“She’s nineteen, and in the hospital dying. The doctor says she has only about a week to live and I wanted to get her something, but I just don’t know if this would be good or not.” I could hear the sadness in her voice, with tears just below the surface.
“You know, I think one of the best things to bring comfort and peace when you’re dying would be something like this. You’re never too old to hear that Jesus loves you.”
As the lady took the lamb back from me and purchased it, and walked out the door, I took a moment to say a prayer for that nineteen-year-old girl whose life was ending before it had really begun. I prayed that that small, stuffed lamb singing an age-old favorite would bring not only her comfort, but everyone who loved her as well.
When I looked up the author of the song, here’s what I found on Wikipedia: “’Jesus Loves Me’ is a Christian hymn written by Anna Bartlett Warner (1827–1915). The lyrics first appeared as a poem in the context of an 1860 novel called Say and Seal, written by her older sister Susan Warner (1819–1885), in which the words were spoken as a comforting poem to a dying child.”
Retail might not pay much here on earth, but when you’re amassing your treasure in heaven, it doesn’t matter what your pay scale is down here. It only matters which hearts you took the time to encourage.
Keep your eyes open and your heart available. You never know who God is going to send to your check-out lane.