Pleasant Words

I was in the grocery store the other day. I was in a hurry, needing to get home to care for my daughter, and get to my never ending stack of laundry. With my organized list in hand, I headed down the aisles.

Unfortunately, the store had done much rearranging, which sent me back and forth from aisle to aisle, searching for the peanut butter. I finally asked for help and the clerk gave me a list that showed where items had been moved to. Great, now I needed a map to navigate the store. I noticed several other shoppers, looking bewildered, and grumbling about not being able to find things. We chatted about the changes.

After I finally found the items on my list, I headed to the checkout stand. The lines were particularly long today. Perhaps because of the “scavenger” hunt we were all on to find our groceries. As I waited in line I noticed how grumpy everyone seemed, even the cashier.

But, in front of me was this little old man. He had just a few things to purchase. He was hunched over, and I thought what a chore it must have been for him to find his groceries, and then walk slowly to the check stand. When it was finally his turn, he methodically put each item on the conveyor belt. The cashier didn’t even look at him. After his last item was carefully set on the belt, he slowly moved to the counter to pay.

But as he did, he looked up at the cashier. She mumbled “Hello, how are you?”

He smiled, which showed off his wrinkled face and excitedly said, “I’m great! How are you today?”

The cashier seemed startled by his enthusiasm, and said, "Fine."

But he didn't stop there.

He continued, “Isn’t it a great day! I like how you arranged the store. It took me a while to find things, but I need the exercise.”

He continued to speak loudly and upbeat. I watched as the attitudes of the people in line changed. People were smiling, even chuckling. He brought some joy to the mundane chore of grocery shopping.

His pleasant words definitely cheered up a lot of people in our line. And I noticed, as I stepped up to the cashier, she looked at me, smiled, and gave me a friendly greeting.

I learned something that day from this elderly man. He had every right to be grumpy. He was bent over, shuffled when he walked, and had to find items that had been rearranged. He could have joined our grumpy group in line. Instead he used his pleasant words and smile to change the attitude of a group of people.

It made me realize just how much our words and attitudes can affect others… positively or negatively.

I pray that I could be more like this sweet old man. To be more aware of the people around me in the busyness of life… and to look for ways to bring a pleasant word to their day. I think it’s a good way to spread the love of God.

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the souls, and healing to the bones.”

Proverbs 16:24

Praying blessings on you and yours,

Kerry