“Patience is the companion of wisdom,” Saint Augustine said.
I was reminded that lesson today. God is amazing that He reminds us of the
truly important lessons in life in the simplest of gestures. Watch, wait and
listen with a happy heart and good things come to pass to those who wait!
As I was out today, trying to quickly do some returns in the
store and pick up a few needed items, I was getting rather annoyed as no one seemed
to be present at any single register. Everywhere I went I was greeted with This
Register is Closed displayed in black and white like a HaHa sign aimed right at
me; you are wasting your time lady. I would have left but I had a return bag in
my hand from an online purchase I wanted to get off my charge card.
Finally I saw a register open with a lady at it and as I approached I noticed only one customer at the
counter. As I congratulated myself on my good luck, my hopes were quickly
dashed. Walking closer, this woman had the dreaded massive overload cart of too
many items to count! And she looked to
me to be Miss High Maintenance. I was in
no mood for this and was hoping she would turn around, make eye contact with me
and say, go ahead of me.
Well, she did turn around and look at me but the words she
uttered were “I am sorry for the wait this may be.” Oh, I felt like she had smacked me, just like
those darn signs that said Register Closed. What was this, conspiracy day
against Veronica Gliatti at the retail store or what? Should I wait or should I go?
Out comes my cell, my BFF when stuck in a slow moving line.
I knew I was not going anywhere quickly. And then, to my surprise, one pair of
shoes after
As this progressed, there was some discussion going on about
the shoes I did not even want to hear as my frustration grew! There were big shoes, little shoes, male
shoes, female shoes, kids shoes, all clearance but I kept thinking what the
hell lady, did you buy every damn pair in the store!
At one point, the cashier actually asked her, in hushed
tones, but it caught my ear, if she wanted her to call someone to get matching
sizes of pairs that were incorrectly matched. I just about lost it by then,
keying into my phone to my best friend my anger. What the hell is wrong with today,
I asked? Is it storming outside bad
luck? I am behind a moron shoe fetish
lady! Help me; I will need heeling after
this! If the cashier left the register
to retrieve matchy sizes and shoes going to the shoe department I was
determined I would consider leaving. That was where my battle line would have
to be drawn.
Luck was on my side and apparently the lady said what she
had that matched would suffice. There was a Shoe God! Eventually this sale was
over, along with about 20 pairs of shoes and the lady turned around, politely, probably sensing my frustration and again
apologized for taking up so much time. I naturally told her it was fine. I even
said, it is a pain to get home with shoes that don’t match in sizes. I thought, especially a whole wardrobe of
them!
As the lady left, the cashier leaned across the counter
towards me. She said “I was really sorry for the long wait. I wonder if you
knew what she was doing and why the matching mattered.” I was about ready to
respond with a curtly, “Why didn’t she check them herself” but before I could
the cashier continued speaking. “That woman is mailing all of those shoes out
of the country to Puerto Rico to hurricane victims. She got sizes for victims
in need. Isn’t that wonderful!"
Right then and there, my sense of humility kicked in big
time. I had been so busy worrying about
my sense of time, my sense of purpose, returning some dumb item that I had not
even bothered to think perhaps what someone else was doing in front of me had a
far greater purpose.
Too often we have people come into our lives that are meant
to touch us in very special ways. We are given the chance to embrace these
opportunities and must be patient about what the lesson is. We have to give it time, it may not be able to be rushed and be on God's timeline, not ours. The message may be so worth it, so valuable, so life-changing. Is it worth not learning, not taking the chance? Dare to find out with a bit of patience. And, just like the
shoes, our souls always need some healing.
God bless the people in Puerto Rico as they continue to heal!
