You’ve Got Potential (08/13/2026)

I was checking out at the local grocery store. I watched the young man bagging my groceries and noticed the care he was taking. He was careful with the bread, put the loaves together in a bag and then put that bag in the cart. That bread wasn’t going to get crushed by moving cans or shifting jars. He double bagged the ½ gallon creamer and the ½ gallon almond milk and put that bag in the cart. I watched as he kept bagging and carefully placing the bags in the cart. Then he put my two cartons of eggs into a bag, placed them gingerly on the top of two others and said to me, “These are your eggs, right here on top.” I smiled and told him, “I’ve been observing you, Tucker. You have real potential!” And his grin lit up his face. The cashier said, “Yep, he’s good. And it’s only his first week.”

As I walked to the car with my cart of carefully packed groceries, Tucker’s face was still fresh in my mind. I was grateful that the Spirit prodded me to compliment him; I know how insecure I can be in new endeavors and how much encouragement would mean. As I thought about his care and his actual logic in bagging which was extraordinary for such a neophyte to bagging, I wondered if his mother had taught him before he started the job or was he just using his skills of observation and problem solving well.

Last evening before I went to bed, I pondered my day giving thanks for the good, seeking help for the ongoing, and remembering those for whom I’ve promised to pray. And Tucker and his bagging and his smile came to mind. And as I thought of him, I had to smile, because the LORD had done it again, using my life to teach me.

First, I realized that the smile was so important. It was a reminder to me to how important noticing goodness is in this world. There is so much negativity; most of us could benefit from a dose of affirmation and encouragement. And I asked the LORD to help me be more affirming of others’ goodness.

Second, I thought of his care in bagging my groceries, his attention to detail, his presence in the moment and to the task at hand. And I realized that in this world it is so easy to become distracted, to try to multi-task, to juggle multiple balls at once. But Tucker saw himself as “servant” – he focused on serving me well, looking to my needs and benefit. Tucker had a true servant’s heart. And I asked the LORD to help me be a better servant, to be more attentive to the ones I am serving realizing as Jesus told me, “Whatsoever you do for the least of these, you do for me.”

As I ended my prayer, I could have sworn I heard, “You have potential.” And I have to tell you, it made me smile.

All of us servants of Christ who bear His name and seek to take Him to others and bring others to Him have potential. It was woven within us at our beginning by our creator and awakened by Christ’s love. And the Spirit stirs it within us and seeks to strengthen it to reality, but it requires cooperation. May we all pray to the LORD for help in cooperating with His design, in opening ourselves to His love, and in cooperating with grace.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.