I have really been dreading going grocery shopping lately. I used to love it. It was a chance to get out of the house, see other grown-ups, look at new things. Now it's just unwanted time away from home, an errand that I would rather not do. Today was one of those days. I was supposed to go to HEB. We needed some things from Sam's, too, but that was going to be tomorrow's errand. A trip to HEB usually runs about one and a half hours total with drive time. I can do Sam's in an hour. So today I gave Paden the choice of which one to go to, and he opted for Sam's. His reasoning - "Can I get a cookie if we go to Sam's?"
"Yes, of course."
"Let's go to Sam's!"
Knocking 30 minutes off my errand time was good enough for me, even though I would not enjoy Sam's any more than I enjoy HEB. So now HEB will be for tomorrow. Already bummed about it.
Isn't it just too much? It's overwhelming. It's disgusting. It's so easy for me to drive 10 minutes and have a million food choices at my finger tips. There are children in my town hungry today. I don't know who they are. I want to make casseroles for their families. If you know them, tell me the address to drop off dinner. How can they also live 10 minutes (or less) from so much food & not have any of it. We are so blinded by all the excess that we fail to see the need. Hunger is evident in Africa, in South America, in those commercials of children in foreign countries who need sponsors. Please sponsor one! But don't forget the families here that are hungry, too. They are harder to find. They hide their need well. Pride is a funny thing. If you don't know where they are, give to your local food pantry. Please give healthy items.
Which brings me to the next thing I hate about grocery shopping. I see overweight people pushing carts full of junk food. Babies strapped in eating cheetos. Toddlers carrying a coke bottle. Don't confuse this with judgement. I could stand to lose a few pounds myself. Who DOESN'T like eating cookies & drinking sodas? Where did this food come from? Why is it sold in disturbingly large quantities in every grocery, convenient, and dollar store around? I understand wanting to buy & eat the junk. It's sad that it is so "convenient", tasty, readily available, and often times cheap. I don't see commercials during Saturday morning cartoons for carrots and milk, people. It's Lucky Charms and Doritos. Our society is inundated from birth with this stuff. Some families think they can only afford to eat this way, even though the empty calories leave them only wanting to consume more, which in turn makes them spend just as much on all that crap as they would spend on a decent amount of healthy food. The products in our grocery stores are not always good for us to eat. "Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial." 1 Cor. 10:23. Our society has not grown the fruit of self-control. I have not grown the fruit of self-control. Lord, help me do only what is beneficial.
Then I get to the checkout line. beep. beep. beep. beep. Fifty beeps later my total is $225. Yeah, that should last the week. Our grocery bill is second only to our mortgage. Now I know not everyone has a family of nine to feed. I do my best to buy organic, fresh food. Nutritious food. And we are blessed to not go hungry - ever. Even when there's "nothing to eat" my pantry & fridge have plenty of stuff in them. Maybe we eat too well. Did I buy too much? Did I buy only what we needed? Probably not. I love to buy "treats" for my family. That's not always food, but it's extra money spent that I should be giving to help others, or pay other bills, or just letting my husband work that much less.
So, seeing that I think about all of these things every time I go to the store, is there any wonder why I dislike it? All of the terrible temptations. The reminder that there are so many in this world who are hungry. It's depressing.
I am so thankful that God has chosen to bless my family abundantly. Undeserved. I just want to be mindful in all things; using His blessings correctly. Spending my money correctly. Thinking of the less fortunate. Giving to them, and keeping less for myself. Providing a healthy, satisfying life for my family, so they can really live.
This is all so disjointed. I am not a writer. Sorry for the rambling.
