Grocery Shopping

Today nearly everyone in my household was sick --except for me. Tristan (my brother) is still recovering from a cough, Daddy, who has the same thing, has just begun to improve, and Mommy has just come down with it. Thankfully, I am not sick at present, having started the cycle of sickness. This means that I get to take care of everything (well, almost) at home until everyone is better. (Which is actually really fun…like playing house, except with a real house!)
It is a great opportunity to learn how to do things on my own, but still have Mommy around to make sure I don’t mess up. : )

One of those things that I had never done on my own before was grocery shopping. And since this was the day we usually do grocery shopping, and Mommy was in no shape to do it with me, and seeing as I can now drive by myself, that task fell to me. Now, just to clarify, I have been grocery shopping before --in fact, I have gone grocery shopping with my family since before I can remember-- but helping Mommy shop and shopping on my own are two very different things.

But I figured it would be a good experience for me, for grocery shopping is a very important skill to have, so I made up my list and off I went.

Now, driving places by myself is a rather new skill for me, and I had never driven to the grocery store alone before. I got there in one piece, however, and even managed to park the car inside the space without having to see-saw back and forth. After calling Daddy to tell him I had arrived safely, I headed into the store.

The actual shopping was pretty easy, since Mommy has been training me for years, and it was no longer than usual before I had gathered everything on my list, and was ready to check out. Thankfully, it was just after lunchtime, and there were not many people in line. I found a line that had just enough people in it to give me time to put my things on the conveyer belt before the lady in front of me had finished paying, and then it was my turn.

This was the dreaded moment. I was going to have to pay and bag my groceries, presumably at the same time. I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage it, but thankfully, the list was a short one this week, and I was able to wait to start bagging until after I had paid.

The rest of my trip was pretty uneventful. (Thankfully!) But it was definitely an adventure. At least now I know I am capable of doing shopping by myself, although I am looking forward to Mommy getting better so she can come with me! : )

Beginnings

I am at a time in my life where at times it seems as if everything is constantly changing, and that life is all new all at once. Novelty brings to life an invigorating freshness, but because beginnings so often entail endings, they tend to bring feelings of sadness as well as joy. This past year has brought me many beginnings and endings, and it has been exciting to see God working through each seeming ending in my life, to bring about a bright and glorious beginning.

So often there must be an ending in order to make possible a beginning. So it is when one places faith and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. II Corinthians 5: 17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." In order for us to grow in godliness, there are "old things" which must pass away. These might be sinful things that must be given up altogether, or things which, although not entirely sinful by themselves, nevertheless come between us and God. It is hard to give these things up, especially when they have rooted themselves in our hearts, but I suppose part of growing is gaining the strength to do that which is right, regardless of whether or not we want to.

Although endings may be difficult, the joy of the resulting beginning often grows until it completely eclipses the sorrow of parting with that which has been left behind.

My family moved last summer, for the first time since I was born. As exciting as it was to have a new house, and to see the way God worked to give us just the right one, it was very hard for me to give up my old house. I would find myself looking forward to having a bigger house with more storage, that was closer to my church, and at the same time wishing that everything would stay the same, and that I could stay in my dear home forever. Yet, when I stepped into the new house and saw all our furniture there, I felt immediately that this was now "home". Our new house has been such an immeasurable blessing, and I would not wish to be still in our old house, but the transition was harder than I would have ever expected.

I often wonder how many blessings I miss because of my unwillingness to pry my eyes off of that which I have left behind!