I
work at Walmart. The people who shop there have become somewhat of a legend as
to being on food stamps, wearing pajamas in public, not bathing or using
deodorant, not wearing supportive mammary attire, and the list just goes on. However, this blog post is about two
different Walmart customers who truly touched my heart – coincidentally on the
same night. Although their stories are not mine to share, I am going to share
them anyway; without any names, location or other revealing information.
I
work in the bakery. I am not a cake decorator – if I am not out on the floor
stocking, I am in the back “kitchen” area either baking, cleaning, downstacking
pallets, or pulling products out of the freezer to stock. However, when I work
the closing shift, I am the only one there for a few hours, so if a customer
wants something written on a pre-made cake, or if someone wishes to order a
cake – I’m their woman!
The
other evening, I was busy in the back when a customer approached the door with
a cake in her hand. She asked if there was anyone there who could write
something on it. Expecting to pen “Happy birthday” or some such, I offered my
services. I was moderately surprised when the words she wanted written were “Congratulations
(name) – 100 days”. I have to admit that my first thought was that this person
had been sober for 100 days, which I would agree is definitely an achievement.
But as I began to assemble the supplies I needed to apply the decoration, she
offered me the news that this person had a bone marrow transplant, and this
person’s body had accepted the new marrow for 100 days. This is pretty much considered
the amount of time that patients need to worry about rejection; thus the
celebration. I was moved and said a quick, silent prayer for this person’s
continued recovery and health.
A
bit later, as I was trying to wrap things up so that I could go on break, a
lady wanted to order a cake for a child, but had problems deciding on the
perfect theme. In my selfish heart, I was just wishing she would hurry up and
choose one – good grief, what was so hard about just picking something?? She
finally decided on one, and as I was taking the order, she asked me about a
smash cake. For those unfamiliar, a smash cake is a small cake just for the
baby on his or her first birthday. The child digs in with hands, or perhaps
even face first; and guests enjoy taking pictures of the momentous event.
Walmart offers a free smash cake with the purchase of a big cake for a first
birthday. This lady explained that it was actually this child’s second
birthday, but she wanted a smash cake even if she had to pay extra for it. Not
being a cake decorator, I am not familiar with many of the policies, so I went
back to look up pricing in one of our “cheat books”. I could not find anything
listing the price of a smash cake, but this dear lady told me that she wanted
one regardless. As a tear slipped down her face, she told me that on this child’s
first birthday, the child had been in an abusive situation, and had not gotten
a cake or celebration and she wanted to make up for it this year. I must say
that it was an effort to hold back my own tears. I told her that as far as
Walmart was concerned, this was a first birthday cake and that the smash cake
would be free. Another prayer was silently said, for this precious child.
When
I got home, I allowed myself to cry for these people. I prayed more fully for
them, and also prayed that God would help me to remember not to judge my
customers. No matter what store they shop at, or what they wear, all these
people have their own stories to tell; their own heartaches and sorrows. And
most importantly, Jesus died for each and every one of them. May I always be a
witness for Him and His love, and not a self-appointed judge of people whom I
don’t even know.
 |
| Awesome people shop at Walmart! |
