Patience in Training

Today I am grateful for the wisdom in simply pausing in quiet. I am also grateful for the lessons life presents when we are paying attention.

Yesterday my husband and I went grocery shopping, then had to make a second stop at a different store for a few more items. These were just a couple of things we needed to get done on a busy day over a busy weekend. I think my Higher Power was trying to send me a message about the importance of patience. I got it. Believe me, I got it. And I am most thankful for that.

Starting at the grocery store, we filled our cart along with many other shoppers. We headed to what looked like the shortest checkout line. I was doing okay with my level of patience, but ready to get going so I could get home to other stuff on my priority list.

We started unloading the cart and I noticed the checker was moving fairly slowly and deliberately. I mentioned to my husband that we had chosen the wrong line. He pointed to a sign just in front of us that I had clearly missed up to this point. It said something like "Cashier in training. Thank you for your patience." I saw the young lady, the new employee, doing her best and I just breathed in and thought let's relax and help her out and not add to her pressure.

We all need to learn new things and it takes time. We all need to exercise patience. That's a skill I continually need to practice. Thanks for the opportunity to practice. Even when I feel rushed, most of the time I don't really need to be. This was a good reminder to slow down and I actually appreciated the more manageable pace I could use to pack our bags.

After loading the car, we headed to our second stop, grabbed the few items we needed and checked out. My husband had a refund card to apply to the purchase and we clearly had an inexperienced checker again. It just took a minute for her to call someone over to assist her, and it was a simple step she had missed. Her fellow employee said something kind, along the lines of "Most of us had trouble with that at first."

No big deal. Trainees needing time to learn. Customers appreciating a little extra practice with patience. We all learned something valuable.


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