What Is In Your Shopping Cart

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What Is In Your Shopping Cart Whether you shop online or in the store, you use a shopping cart. So what’s in it? I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my shopping cart and these are the things I’ve taken off the shelves as I walked into this little known and barely used store. The first thing I saw when I entered this store was how clean and swept it was. There wasn’t any pushing or shoving, angry insults or kids screaming for attention. The proprietor was a gentle looking sort with a smile that could melt your soul. He invited me in and told me he was there to help in any way. The first aisle I came to took me by surprise. 1. Good will. The shelf was overflowing with it as I walked down this aisle. It seemed nobody wanted any of that, especially as I remembered those angry shoppers. I turned the corner on the next aisle and was met with - 2. Peace. I saw another overflowing aisle. It seems people do a lot of talking about peace, but few actually take part in it. I wondered what life would be like if there was more peace in the world. So I grabbed some peace and said to myself - let it begin with me. I inwardly cringed when I saw the next aisle. 3. Patience. I knew I needed a lot of that one. So I grabbed up all I could. I began to wonder what kind of store I had wondered into with all these gifts being offered that nobody seemed to want. I noticed when I came upon the store called Heavenly Gifts, that not too many people were interested in it. They all headed for the large department stores with bright lights, gift wrapped packages for display, and the store Santa the kids were all scrambling to see. I looked at my cart and thought how they could use a good dose of Good Will, Peace, and Patience with all the pushing and shoving I saw, and the angry words flung about to anyone and everyone who chanced by them. I decided to keep shopping as I turned down another aisle and wondered what I would find next. 4. Love. No doubt I could use that and from the sounds coming from the rest of the mall, so could everyone else. My cart was only half full, and I wondered what the cost on all this was as there wasn’t a price tag anywhere in sight. Putting that to the back of my mind, I turned another corner. I looked at the sign on that aisle and my stomach gave a lurch. 5. Forgiveness. How many people did I need to forgive? Several came to mind. I wondered if it were too late to ask forgiveness of some or if any of them would accept this gift I offered as I filled my basket with forgiveness for all who came to mind. There were still several rows to go as I wondered what I would find next. 6. Thankfulness. Again my thoughts turned to the many times I wasn't thankful for the many things I received. I promised to do better as I added thankfulness to the growing mound in the basket. I certainly had a lot to think about in this store. I found my mind wandering over the times in my life when I was in short supply of all these gifts the shelves had to offer in abundant supply, and I turned down the next aisle. 7. Prayer. I hung my head in shame. So often I went through my day without a thought to prayer except as a last resort. How often had I promised to pray for someone and then forgot. I had even bought books on it to help me do better. It was past time to do better as I grabbed prayer from the shelf. My basket looked full as I headed down the last aisle. 8. Faithfulness. There again I felt like a failure as I thought about all those times I let someone down and grabbed plenty from the shelf. I looked at everything my basket contained and promised that not only was I going to give these gifts to everyone I met, I was going to use them myself. Next year would be a really good year and I would start right then and there. With a smile on my face I headed to the checkout counter and placed each item on the belt. The young man whose smile could melt your soul, just looked at me and said - PAID IN FULL Thanks for reading. Image courtesy of Pixabay Copyright - Valerie Jean Routhieaux