Tuesday 23 December 2008

Random Ramblings - Thoughts on a trip to Tesco

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Tesco
I had to take a trip to Tesco last night at 9:45pm, a simple trip to fill the car with petrol, get some bread, milk, baby milk & some juice, along with a bottle of antibac spray (which I forgot).

The petrol I got ok, but a parking space to go into the main store... another story. After finding a spot I entered what seemed like madness as people stacked their trolleys high and ignorantly blocked isles & shoved past one another in their rush to get stocked up for the Christmas period when the shops will shut for all of 1 day.

It was chaotic as I tried to squeeze down isles past people to get a bottle of milk, excused myself & apologised as I tried to squirm through to the shelf & get some bread and waited patiently while a few people blocked my path while chatting.

Becoming Bitter
People who know me, know that shopping in large crowds is not one of my strong points & patience can fly very easily out of my grasp. I'm more of a get in get out shopper, without any longing to browse around or dillydally.

So it will be no surprise to you when I tell you that before long my self control was lost & I became ruthless in my charge and when I bumped into a girl I used to work with I almost forgot to wish her a happy Christmas as my heart was so filled with frustration at being in a shop this close to Christmas.

I remember a few years ago being in Belfast with Tim Millen, who hates shopping even more than I do, and he was longing to have a light saber that he could swing in front of him, chopping up all that stood in his path. Last night that is exactly what I wanted. Or to change my name to Elijah & to call fire down in order to consume these worshippers of consumerism would have been fun.

I Should Have...
I should have had compassion on everyone else, esteemed them higher than myself & humbly, patiently waited while others sorted themselves out. I should have been praying for each person I passed & taken the Christmas opportunity to witness to my friend.
I should have let this experience drive me to my God, my Saviour thanking Him that there are no ques to Him, no payment to be made & that in His Kingdom we won't be as crazy when it comes to shops.
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About Boaly
Gary has been involved in printing the Scriptures for 20 years, enjoys photography and rambling online

6 comments:

W. Ian Hall said...

I was in their Lisburn store shopping a few years ago on either 23rd or 24th Dec at 11pm - bedlam doesn't even come close to describing it.

supersimbo said...

i stood & watched a very irate lady yelling at a deaf women tonight in tesco, cuz she wouldnt get out of her away..........obviously the deaf women could not hear her, which made it very funny to watch!!

Anonymous said...

I currently do not reside in the UK and there is a very short list of things which I do actually miss - Tesco's being one of them.

Your trip to Tesco's may have been frustrating or even harrowing but I thnk you for suffering through it so you could share your experience on your blog.

Strange as it may sound, I really wish I had been there in your place. I would have loved it.

Don't worry. I'm in therapy.

Seriously though, it is truly a blessing to me to read about Tesco's - it's odd the way we can be a blessing to people!

Boaly said...

Peter, I wish I could say it is my pleasure...but instead i'll say that you need to continue in therapy! LOL!

Glad to be of any service! Your comment is definately the last type of comment I expected when I wrote this post, thankyou!

Anonymous said...

It is true that some times God gives us messages for others which directly affect them. At the same time though many of the things we say or do bless others in ways that we never expected.

I gave a Fathers day message at a church in America once and someone came up afterward and thanked me profusely. I thought she was thanking me for my wise words and deep message but she wasn't.... she was thanking me for having an english accent. She had been raised by her English grandfather and my accent reminded her of his voice on that fathers day which was the best gift she could have had.

I am so glad that God used me that day even if it wasn't in the way that I was expecting and I'm so glad he used you with this post even if it wasn't in the way you were expecting.

Keep it up in 2009, you never know who you will bless or how you will bless them!

Boaly said...

Thanks for the kind words Peter & for your encouragement toward me!

May the Lord continue to use you to bless & encourage people in great ways in '09, even in weird ways like the one you said about there!