Walmart- A Study of Contrasts

There are times I wonder that I ever want to go out in public. Not just because of my children and their antics that I have discussed at length in previous posts, but because the world can be so unpredictable and ugly.

Earlier today I wound my way through the obstacle course of death that is the Walmart parking lot on any given day. As I avoided getting my car mangled by yet another auto backing up at mach speed without looking, someone passed me on the right giving me the finger for not doing the apparent posted parking lot speed of 55 mph. As I badgered my daughter to walk faster because we were in the cross walk and the car beside us was creeping forward, hoping to hurry us along, I thought I wanted to hurry him along somewhere too, but instead we just hurried. All of this I did so that I could frequent my favorite movie rental box and spend a mere dollar to entertain myself and the girls on a rare, rainy Arizona afternoon.

As I wandered the crowded aisles with the latest kid movie jostling in my purse, I wanted nothing more than to find some popcorn to go with the movie and to escape the insanity that is Walmart. I was thinking that maybe spending nearly five bucks on a movie rental may be worth it and that maybe the world was more angry than I realized. Was it the economy? Because it was Thursday and not Friday? Maybe they were angry because their dog died, or they were missing a loved one. Regardless, I was thinking that I didn't want any part in it, until I heard a soft voice talking to Punkin who was huddling in the cart pulling the shy card. I smiled and chastised Punkin about needing to be more polite and thought that would be the end of our interaction. Instead, the woman asked me in her soft voice that was laced with a sweet southern accent if I went to church. I said "yes", and "no" and wondered to myself how I felt about that. I meant that yes, I am usually a church goer, but that somehow, somewhere I've fallen away. I just left it at my conflicting response, vowing to bring my guilt about that answer out to play another day. She gave me a flier and as I grabbed it from her and stared into her rich coffee colored gaze that matched her flawless skin, I felt the sweet embrace of her kindness and the light of true love. Not crazy romantic love, but the love that can only come from those that believe in the principals that are above our measly human existence and more elevated than my present mindset. It made me want to attend whatever it was that she offered so that I could look as content as her amid the craziness of a busy Walmart. I could still feel the glow of her enlightenment as I walked off with a promise to try to attend, and I wondered about what an amazing study of contrasts one trip to Walmart could offer.