Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Super Couponer

There was a little incident at the grocery store late this afternoon (trip 4 out of a possible 7 this month, by the way).  It provoked a couple of realizations:  I have a lot to learn about being a good shepherd of our grocery dollar, and, well, I just have a lot to learn.  Period.  Here’s how it played out.

  1. Beca has 20 minutes to buy her 7 ingredients in a quantity that will see the family through Saturday.
  2. Beca races through the store, buying what was on her list without any regard for price.
  3. Beca zooms up to the front of the store, strategically screens which line will be fastest for checkout, picks one, and unloads her cart onto the conveyor belt.
  4. The nice older woman who is preparing to pay pulls out a wad of coupons and waits for her neatly arranged groceries to be beeped.
  5. Beca notices that the woman is buying a ton of the same food items and wonders why the heck she needs 10 packages of Lipton rice side dishes, 16 frozen pizzas, etc.  Beca conveniently forgets that others may be looking at her own basket and wondering what the heck anyone needs 12 sweet potatoes and 12 avocados.
  6. Cashier starts to process the woman’s coupons, making good progress through the stack he is handed.  He tells her a total, and she pulls out more coupons!
  7. Beca looks at her watch…19 out of 20 minutes elapsed.  Tapping her fingers in exasperation, she realizes that there is no escape route because groceries are already unloaded and people are in line behind.
  8. Cashier appears flummoxed by what he sees on his screen and calls manager several times.
  9. Manager looks, beeps her badge, presses one key, and walks away.
  10. Beca texts daughter with a message that says something like:  “Aaaargh.  This is driving me crazy!  There’s a super couponer ahead of me and it’s taking forever.”
  11. Manager double checks total by checking paper receipt, and then says, “I don’t know how you did it, but your total is $1.86.”
  12. Lady hands him $2 dollar bills, receives her 14 cents change and walks out.
  13. Beca is not impressed. She is annoyed and thinks things in her head like:  “Really that seems like a lot of effort and scheming just to save a few bucks, taking advantage of Rainbow Foods like that.  And, does she not realize that there are people behind her who would like to pay?”
  14. Beca moves ahead to begin bagging and paying for her load of God-ordained ingredients.
  15. When asked, Beca says, “No, I don’t have any coupons,” and thinks smugly in her own head, “And I bet you’re glad because I am a much easier customer paying full price for everything.”
  16. Beca heads to her car, walking quickly because now she is nearly 10 minutes off schedule.  She spots the woman and two younger women who could well be her daughters carefully divvying up the $1.86 in food and carrying them to their modest, late model cars.
  17. Beca hangs her head, realizing that she just witnessed something quite remarkable.


What I saw today was a couple of important things.  I saw a lovely woman...
  • taking stewarding of the family food budget to an art form
  • sharing in the provision willingly
  • coordinating, cooperating, planning, and executing with skill…and with a smile


Today I also saw a couple of important things in me:
  • I am quick to judge motivations and value, when I don’t really have the context in which to make the judgment
  • I am impatient and very time driven
  • I may be learning something about making food last, but I’ve still got a ton to learn about making a dollar last


A sweet friend gave me a devotional, Jesus Calling (by Sarah Young), when she visited last week.  Here is an excerpt of today’s entry:  “I am leading you along the high road, but there are descents as well as ascents.  In the distance you see snow-covered peaks glistening in brilliant sunlight.  Your longing to reach those peaks is good, but you must not take shortcuts.  Your assignment is to follow Me, allowing Me to direct your path.  Let the heights beckon you onward, but stay close to Me.”

Its accompanying scripture reference is this:
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  2 Corinthians 4:17

Every light and momentary trouble throughout this journey is not an annoyance and it does not mean “look for a shortcut.”  It is a teaching moment achieving for me an eternal glory.  I pray that I am teachable.

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