Grief at the Grocery

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why: I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it

Matthew 25:35-40 (NIV)

 

Groceries filled one bag after another as the customer placed her items into the cart. No one spoke as she and the clerk worked together to finish her shopping trip. She was out of breath as she moved in front of me to pay. 

            “Are you ok?” I asked the obviously stressed lady. 

            “No. My friend just died. Her family came and there is no food for them. I just wanted to do something.”

            My heart broke. Every time I hear of someone losing a loved one, my heart hurts. 

            Another employee pushed the cart to her car. The clerk and I expressed our sadness at the news. 

            When my granddaughter, Molly, joined me, I explained about the lady and said, “I have to give her one of my grief books.”

            I reached into my car and pulled out the bag of books. Only my book Hope in Isolation remained. But I knew the lady needed my book, Ambushed by Glory in My Grief. Molly said that I should give her the Isolation one. 

            I looked across the parking lot but the lady had disappeared. How could she have left so quickly? I searched the parking lot and was ready to give up. 

            Unexpectedly, she appeared from behind her car. I hurried to catch her before she drove away.  However, she turned and headed back into the store. Molly and I dashed to catch her. When we moved through the door, there was no evidence of the elusive woman. 

            I decided we would have to branch out and search the store and hope we didn’t lose her again. Then I looked up and there she stood down a nearby aisle.  I moved as quickly as I could without running through the store. 

            I didn’t want to startle her so I slowed down. “I just saw you in line. I am sorry about your friend. I wrote a book on grief and wanted you to have it.”

            “What is its name?” She pulled out a pen. I showed her a picture of Ambushed by Glory in My Grief.

            “I want to give you this other book I wrote since I don’t have the one on grief.” 

            Tears came. Two strangers hugged surrounded by rows of salad dressings. Molly stood nearby and watched. 

            “Thank you.”

            “I will be praying for you.” 

            “Isn’t it amazing how God works?” I said to Molly as we left the store. 

            She gave me a high five as we both felt the joy of helping a grieving lady.  

            Molly reminded me of the series of events. “If we hadn’t eaten so many strawberries, we wouldn’t have come to buy more. We went to a different store. We didn’t go to the express lane because I didn’t want to walk that far.”

            Then I added. “I don’t always talk to customers but she looked distressed.”

            We pondered the ways God used circumstances for us to minister to the grieving lady. 

            Since that day, we returned to the same store and hoped we would see her. We didn’t but the beautiful memory remains. 

She needed kindness in her pain and the Holy Spirit led us to be like Jesus. 

Loving Father, thank you for arranging our encounter by nudging us to help a stranger. Help us listen and with our actions to be more like Jesus.

Amen