Unexpected Kindness in the "No Limit You Scan" Lane

Some of you have been exposed to this novelty check-out lane of Meijer, where you can get your normal amount of weekly (monthly for me) groceries and still scan them yourself. As I weaved my way through the suckers backed up to the greeting cards while waiting in line for the standard check-out lane, I cooly moved to the "No Limit You Scan" Lane. Now for any of you who have tried this lane know that checking out here without two people is a complete disaster. The poor man in front of me, decked out in his "Ranger Division" Tommy parka, struggled through intermittently scanning his 25 individual yogurt containers and making sure each was pushed down and off the belt as to beat the computer prompt to do so. He managed to complete his check-out process with only two cacophonous computer requests to "Please wait for assistance..." for no apparent reason.

When I began scanning my items, my Bounty (okay, let's be honest...I can't afford name brand)...my Meijer's paper towel tubes started colliding with his yogurts as he furiously bagged the myriad of individually-packaged containers. I smiled weakly with a quick apology as my first "Please wait for assistance" notification alarmed. "Wow, you didn't get very far" he hollered smugly. "Jerk", I thought as I tried to remember that blessed pass code I had seen the Meijer representative punch in so many times by now to unlock the machine.

"What happened?", the SAME Meijer clerk that had helped the gentleman in front of me asked, as if this was the first time that this situation had arisen for her all day.

"Not sure" I managed as she plugged in her pass code again. "Ah...FOUR, three, one" I thought.

Now continuing to furiously scan MY fruit-on-the-bottoms, I noticed that Ranger Rich was still at the bottom of the beltway now bagging my groceries. "There you go, man" he chirped happily as he snapped the final bag and grabbed his cart to exit.

"Thank you!" I hollered after him, now turning towards the door.

This event was definitely humbling for a self-preserving Friday night grocery shopper. I smiled all the way to the car believing once again in the human spirit to do good and be a part of a mission that asks them to be better - to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8). Tonight I was inspired in the you-scan aisle to pursue "otherness" and service more passionately. A life lived for self is no life at all.

When the last grocery bag was tucked into the trunk of my car, my cart was placed safely home into its corral at last.