Ok. Food is not my friend so going to the store is not something I either excel at or excites me. Especially the Saturday before Christmas. As I poured my delaying cup of coffee I noticed the treasured feathers gifted last weekend. Their whispers were ever so gentle… What if you went and intentionally parked at the furthest point in the giant parking lot and gave thanks for a car and for a body that can walk? What if you left blessings of grace on the shopping cart handle for all who would touch after you? What if you looked into the eyes of everyone and with a smile said ‘good morning?’ What if you left blessings of peace and abundance up and down the aisles? What if you were so attentive you could sense those who were struggling and offered them a prayer? What if your cart became a basket of prayers and blessings you could shower everyone and everything? What if you offered thanks to all the workers who are probably exhausted with long hours, low wages, and no time to shop for themselves? What if instead of standing in line you held grace? What if you simply trusted the people who stand on the edge of the store’s property with cardboard signs and gave them a gift without a single doubt or judgment? What if going to the store was a way of giving gratitude for both the abundance to buy and fact that there is food available? What if little one? What if you went on such an adventure? 

A first for sure. The parking lot that should have been overflowing was not. There was no one standing with a cardboard sign. The store that should have been filled and packed like a can of sardines was not. Yes, I confess with a hearty chuckle, I was somewhat puzzled. But with a laugh thought how perfect now I could scoot up and down the aisles leaving blessings and a longer gaze into the eyes of others. I chatted with a couple of workers. Even though I am short, I could reach an item another could not (yes, I did climb the bottom shelf like a ladder). And as I scurried my basket of grace through the store it began to fill with more shoppers. My work could continue. With a toss of a bag of two of chocolates, I knew my “work” was done. As I left, a man waited with a cardboard sign. I didn’t need to read his sign. I preferred to read his eyes.

What if…………………