Shopper encounters humility and an angel

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By Kathy Berken
On Deck

 

Does this seem familiar? You’re in a rush and need to stop at the store for just one item but you spend way too long looking for it and then you bury your pride and ask somebody to help, only to discover that the item is out of stock! So, you grab something else just so you don’t walk out of the store empty-handed, feeling guilty that you may appear to be shoplifting?

This happened to me as I was leaving Appleton, Wisconsin for a five-hour drive back to St. Paul, Minnesota after a week celebrating Christmas with my son Aaron and family. I stopped at the world’s largest grocery store to get some cherished Limburger cheese. (I come from hearty German stock, that’s why.)

Only Woodman’s carries it, so I walked in prepared for the hunt. After 15 minutes of searching, I finally asked a store employee for help. The Limburger section was marked but empty. “We’re out,” he said. “It’s the holidays.” A German tradition, of course.

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Not wanting to leave the store empty-handed, I grabbed a bag of freshly made squeaky cheese curds. The only checkout lanes that were not a mile long were self-service, a feature I almost-never use because I like to keep people employed.

I set the little bag on the pad, studied the screen, and touched “Press to start.” No response. Ugh. Behind me, a line was forming and I just wanted to buy these curds and be on my way! I was feeling like such a tech neophyte. I turned around to see a friendly-looking man watching me.

“Can you help me figure this out?” I asked. He was happy to help. “I never use these things,” I mumbled and he responded, “I get it.” At least he wasn’t laughing at me (as far as I could tell).

He pushed the start button and it worked. Of course it did. I popped in my credit card to pay for the curds and got an error message. Strangely, a mega-store carrying every food in the universe takes debit or cash only. We started over.

I put my card back and pulled out a $20, positioning it just right in the machine. It worked and I received change back. I told the nice man that my grandchildren would be rolling their eyes right now chanting, “Grandma, you can do this!” He laughed, knowingly. I thanked him twice, picked up the bag and added, “I finally got my cheese curds!”

I was tempted to tell this man that he was an angel but that might have been a bridge too far. Yet he was an angel sent by God. I know this because my 7-year-old granddaughter Isabelle explained the nature of angels to me last summer after a helpful hiker appeared out of nowhere to point our way out of the woods. When the woman walked away, I said to Isabelle, “She was an angel sent to help us!” Isabelle matter-of-factly stated, “You know, Grandma, angels are invisible until you need them and then they will appear to help you in your darkest hour and then disappear again.” So much for having a theology degree when a child knows more about the spiritual world than I do!

The kind man’s assistance in the checkout line was that of an angel, helping me with unfamiliar technology and alleviating my worry about keeping the line waiting. I imagine he probably went home to his family to tell the tale! My gratitude for encountering such a person outweighed my feelings of helplessness and inadequacy resulting from an accumulation of humbling experiences I’ve had in my 75 years on earth.

May the new year bring us more angels, more opportunities for spiritual growth and more moments where God’s messengers appear out of nowhere to keep our love for our Creator and our hope in humanity alive.

(Kathy Berken is a spiritual director and retreat leader in St. Paul, Minnesota. She lived and worked at L’Arche in Clinton  — The Arch from 1999-2009.)


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