A tale of two grocery carts

I always came prepared. I had my shopping list on my phone, organized by aisle and my usual pattern of strolling through Target. I dutifully checked each box as I dropped each item into the cart, and even when I veered off course to peek at home goods or other fun things, I always came back to my list. 

So by the end of my Target run, I had a cart full of health and beauty essentials, plus our sweet snacks and frozen treats for the week. (And at times, an item or two from that tempting dollar section.) More often than not, I would run into someone I knew as we meandered to the checkout lanes, and I would later wonder if they judged me for the contents of my cart. After all, I didn’t have any produce in there, only our snacks. 

There was a perfectly logical explanation for this:  my next stop was Aldi. For years, I split my grocery shopping into two trips:  one to Target and one to Aldi. I would load up on our health and beauty essentials and processed foods at Target and then head to Aldi for our produce and a few other items. 

If you happened to run into me at Aldi and glance at the items in my cart, you would have been impressed to see mostly produce and healthful foods. In fact, as I was loading my groceries onto the belt at Aldi, I would often feel the need to confess, lest someone get the wrong idea about me by the incomplete picture painted by my Aldi grocery cart. 

You see, neither of those two grocery carts presented the full picture of who I was. My Target items were evidence that I used soap and shampoo and toothpaste, but also that I had a bit of a sweet tooth and a penchant for processed snacks. My Aldi cart proved that I also enjoyed salads and certain veggies and fruits. Had you seen my cart at either Target or Aldi, you would have gotten the wrong impression of me, or at least only a partial impression of me. In order to get the more complete picture, you would have needed to follow me to both stores. (But thank you for not doing that.)

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:11-12:  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

We don’t have to look far to see suffering here on earth. From our teens going through the heartbreak of liking someone who doesn’t return their feelings (or vice versa) to questioning why we chose our career paths and if we can continue in them until retirement to caring for an ailing parent or spouse to fighting cancer or chronic pain or mental instability. The list could go on and on and on. At some point, we may find ourselves being pulled down by the weight of discouragement. 

If this describes you today, take comfort in Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians. Take courage in the fact that there are a lot of things we can’t see going on right now, ways in which God is working. But one day, we will know. 

Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:  Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

You and I see what is temporary. We can only see one of the grocery carts in my earlier illustration. Only part of the picture, not the whole. So we’re missing some key details currently, aren’t we? 

One day, we will see the full picture. But for now, the apostle Peter has some good advice for us:  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:6-7).

I have always taken comfort in these verses, but I have sometimes thought of this command to humble ourselves as meaning that we are to acknowledge how mighty God is and how small we are in comparison. That we are to let go of our pride and bow before God. And all of that is true and biblical. But it is interesting that Peter follows up that statement with one about casting all of our anxiety on God because God cares for us. 

The fact that he has paired these thoughts together leads me to wonder if perhaps our way of humbling ourselves is to pray, or to cast all of our anxiety on the Lord in prayer. As long as we are holding on to our semblance of control, insistent upon taking care of things our own way, we don’t ask for help. However, the first thing we do when we feel ourselves going under is to yell for help. And really, isn’t asking for help one of the most humble things we can do?

So Peter is saying here that we can humbly accept the help of our mighty God by coming to Him with all of our worries and fears and disappointments. Yes, this world can crush us. Yes, we can get confused and hurt by unanswered questions. But we can also humble ourselves and take all of these situations to God in prayer. And as we come to Him, we do so with full assurance that He cares for us. Because He cares for us, we can know that He will safeguard the issues and heartaches that we leave in His hands. 

Philippians 4:6-7 tell us about this glorious exchange – our worries for God’s peace:  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And going forward, we can prepare our minds by choosing what to focus on:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things (Philippians 4:8).

I love The Message version of Psalm 18:20-24. It paints such a lovely picture of us trusting in God to write our stories (and believing that we will see the bigger picture someday):  God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start. Now I’m alert to God’s ways; I don’t take God for granted. Every day I review the ways he works; I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I’m watching my step. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.

As for my tale of two grocery carts, Covid changed all of that. I began choosing the “drive up” option at Walmart and just placing my entire order there. So when the cheerful Walmart employee rolls his cart full of bins out to my car, he has the majority of my family’s grocery wants and needs for the coming week. He has, if you will, the bigger picture. He may not appreciate this for the privilege that it is, but you and I can. We can remember this illustration and be encouraged as we wait for its spiritual fulfillment in our own lives.