HEB Shopper Fail

I had a major HEB shopper fail last week that made me want to crawl away, hide and never return. I take full responsibility for my shopper fail. Hopefully, it will never happen again.

I had a pretty full cart and made a beeline for the register that was almost empty. Yahoo, I was in luck! No one in line! So, I pulled in with the cart and unloaded my 50 or so items. When about ready to pay, I looked up and noticed the lighted box above the register: 15 items or less.  I looked at the cashier and said, “I am so sorry! I somehow missed that sign altogether! I would have happily taken this to another register.” She was very kind to me and off I went, a remorseful shopper.

I get it. We all make mistakes. But, I totally had a shopper fail that day. It was such an obvious mistake that the apology came quickly. But, sometimes, the apology doesn’t come quickly. Maybe you know what I mean. There are times when it’s super hard to ask for forgiveness. We hem and we haw and we put it off and we think to ourselves…. It wasn’t THAT big of a deal what I did. I won’t say anything.

Yet apologizing is so liberating! It frees up your mind to focus on more important things. It makes awkward moments with the injured party vanish away. (I am free to roam about HEB now, not even thinking about my shopper fail.) It releases the judgment others might hold against you. And, it puts you in right relationship with God and others when we chose to forgive.

Beth Moore writes “Never underestimate the power of an apology. Few of us want to pump our fists and cheer on our deathbeds,  ‘Woohoo! I never did say I was sorry for that!’ The proud are so lonely. They won’t admit it but they are. No one’s more alone that the one who views an apology as caving.”

As we enter into this holiday season, it might be time to make wrongs right …. with a family member, friend or co-worker. Break through the weirdness and initiate like Jesus did in the Gospels. He always showed love and He always initiated even with those who treated Him poorly. He spoke about forgiveness too, saying not seven times, but seventy times seven! (Matthew 18:22)

Let’s enter this holiday season asking God to give us a humble, forgiving spirit. Be quick to apologize for your wrongs.  Be a restorer in relationships, not a withholder. Remember, when you forgive, you are released from your own prison.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ, God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain of the YMCA of Greater San Antonio