The Scan Stutter (04/23/2024)

There was a long line at the market check-out and only one register clerk on duty. So, I chose the self-checkout option. I should have realized early on, like immediately, that it wasn’t the best choice when it wouldn’t respond to my finger, and I had to use my stylus which I carry in my pocket. I’ve learned that a lot of things don’t recognize my touch. Anyway, I was doing pretty well, even with the multiple produce items that required me to find it on the list rather than scanning price bar.  But then, on the very last item, a loaf of Oatnut bread, I must have stuttered over the scanner because it rang up twice. I sighed to myself, “So much for self-checkout.”

I had to get a clerk to come and help me. She assured me quite kindly that it wasn’t a problem; she even told me it happens more frequently than I might imagine. I really appreciated that extra touch of kindness to my ego. Turns out that I would have needed her help anyway because I had two sacks of grapes which the self-checkout doesn’t like because if one places the bag over the scanner window it mistakenly reads a price code on the bottom of the sack. The clerk set everything right, smiled at me, and said, “You’re good to go” before walking away.

Sometimes, as much as we hate to admit it, we need help. We may start out quite independently, sure of our own prowess, only to find mid-task that we can’t do it alone. I find these moments happen to me with great frequency at the grocery store where items are too high for a 5’ tall woman to reach. Truth be known, grocery shopping is increasingly my go to exercise for humility.

Speaking of truth, the truth is that our lives are not meant to be independent of our LORD. We are daughters and sons of the Almighty Father; we are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ; we crave the indwelling of our LORD “in whom we live and move and have our being.” We will only ever be our true selves when we humbly rely upon the LORD for direction, for the ability to unpack the gifts and graces He so graciously and generously gives to us. And when we are willing to do that, it is amazing what the LORD can accomplish through us.

And often times, what the LORD draws us to is helping others, serving others, loving others as the LORD has shown us to love. Sometimes, we are the very instruments the LORD uses to help another, to bring another to Christ, to bring Christ to another. But it all begins with setting down that childish “I can do it myself” mindset.

As we go about our lives this day, seeking to journey in faith, allowing hope to buoy our soul, and understanding that love is the fuel we must have to make it to our destination, let us also put on the apron of humility and begin with our admission of our great need for and reliance upon our all-loving and all-present LORD. Let us seek the will of the Father, the love of the Son, and the power of the Spirit as we set out on our day’s adventure. And let us be open to the tap of the Spirit to be the helper to those along the way.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.