This winter John and I are in North Fort Myers. It is an unfamiliar home in a mostly-unfamiliar area. I have, on several occasions after having gone to the grocery store discovered when I was at home starting a meal, realized something I thought I had was something I had had at home in Michigan. Ugh!
Additionally, the past three years we co-housed with Linda and Larry and I thought I had done a fairly good job of bringing the things I had not brought the past several years. But, even with the intention and the planning and the packing every square inch of the van it has been necessary to make MANY trips to the store. Just the navigating is a challenge, but add to that the fact that I don’t love shopping. And this area is very busy. Plus, Thanksgiving is this week.
So, on Saturday morning I decided I was going to Aldi with a long list to make it until after Thursday without having to go again. I don’t use a cart. It is too cumbersome to get around. Especially when the store is busy. I use up to four of my own shopping bags. They were all full when I got to the self checkout.
As I finished scanning my order I looked in the trash for any discarded receipts. I get these for Linda. She uses an app to get money back. I was so excited to spot three!
I managed to get four bags of items into three bags so that I had a free hand to also carry the large take-and-bake pizza to the van. Then I figured out how to get from Aldi to Publix. As I pulled out my credit card I had a distinct feeling that I had no memory of paying for my order at Aldi. I left the store and vacated my parking spot to a waiting shopper-wanna-be and I pulled around the back of the store and drove to the far end of that strip mall behind Aldi.
Stopping the car, I walked to the back and opened the hatch. There were the three “found” receipts, but no receipt for my purchases!
I drove around the building and with a pounding heart I approached a woman running a register, saying I needed to speak to a manager. She said she was part of the management team, asking what I needed. “I was in here a bit ago and went through the self-check lane. When I went to pay for my items at Publix I realized I had not paid for my order. I was on counter number two.”
“I know,” she said. When it was discovered, she had tried to void the sale, and the register had crashed and needed to be rebooted. She called for another manager to come up, and stepped away from her register to update him. They both went to a far aisle to see if they could reactivate the sale before she returned to her check-out lane.
I heard her explain what was going on to another manager that came to help. “That lady realized she had not closed out her purchase and she came back in to pay.”
The lines were to the back of the store by this time….
I kept offering to go bring everything in and scan it all again. He continued to tell me that he did not want me to have to go to that trouble.
Both of these individuals knew my transaction had been $72 and some change. He continued to work on the register before deciding to make a call to corporate and secure permission to just ring up that amount and receive payment.
Overwhelm. Regret for the inconvenience to both of them and the whole store of shoppers. Embarrassment. I tried but failed to hold back the tears.
As he handed me the receipt he stood up, motioned to me with his hand, opened his arms wide before stepping forward to give me a hug, saying, “You are a good person. You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”
Less than an hour later I had opportunity to share this story with a friend. As I repeated those precious words that had been spoken to me by that manager, I had a profound sense this assurance was not just for me personally and I was overwhelmed by the sacredness of having been a part of an outplaying for the ONE.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, GOODNESS, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.” ~ Galatians 5: 22 -23
May all beings come to know their intrinsic goodness.
Tears are welling up again two days later as my fingers move over the keys on the keyboard giving words to this holy happening at Aldi….
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