More Than Just a Trip to the Store

I'm always excited when I can save money.  The coupon craze that's going on everywhere right now goes on at my house, too...to an extent.  No, I'm not like those extreme couponers that are being featured on TLC's new show.  I don't have a stockroom full of unnecessary items or so much food that I can never consume it all before the expiration date.  But I do love to save a buck when I can and I absolutely love the Buy One-Get One Free deals that grocery stores now have.  I always try to take advantage of these sales and its during this time that I try to stock up on the items that we use often.  I like to get the most for my money and think of it as being a better steward with what God has blessed me. 

So you can imagine my excitement when my son's favorite cereal was Buy One-Get One Free this week at a local store.  Being the rapidly growing 14-year old that he is, the boy can consume some cereal!!  So whenever I find it on sale - and especially when its BOGO - I try to stock up.  I dropped him off at school this morning and headed straight for the store, excited about the cereal sale and planning to pick up a few other items while I was there. 

I added up the price of things in my head as I put them in my buggy so I would have an idea of how much my total was going to be.  I like to have an idea in my head of how much I'm spending before I get to the register so I'll know if my items are ringing up correctly.  So when the cashier told me the total, I wasn't surprised.  It was within a couple of dollars of what I had tallied in my head, so I paid and left the store.  It was only when I was leaving the parking lot that I began looking over my receipt...and saw the error. 

I immediately pulled off the road so that I could focus my attention on the receipt.  And there it was.  The main item I had gone to the store for - the cereal.  I had purchased 4 bags, thinking I was paying for 2 and getting 2 free.  However, on my receipt 3 of the bags were full price and only one was reading as free.  "The NERVE," I thought, "I can't believe they messed up."  Afterall, it was the cereal sale that got me to the store in the first place.  Otherwise, I wouldn't have been shopping there at all.  I immediately started accusing the store of not having their registers set properly and thinking how irresponsible that was of them.  I began to turn my car around and head back to the store.  Yes, it was only $3.19 that I was owed, but doggone it, that was MY $3.19!

Then I had a thought.  (I realize now it wasn't my thought, but instead it was God telling me what to do.)  I picked up the sales flyer and turned to the page advertising the cereal.  Something (God) told me to double check the ad.  And there it was, in the small print below the picture of the cereal.  I had purchased the correct brand of cereal, but 2 of the bags I had selected weren't flavors that were included in the sale.  Of the four bags I had gotten, 2 were flavors that were on sale and 2 were not.  According to the flyer, with the flavors I had selected, I should have purchased 3 bags at full price and gotten one bag for free.  Exactly as the receipt showed.  The store was right. I had been so caught up in the excitement of the sale that I had failed to read the fine print in the ad.

I immediately felt shame and frustration.  I was so ashamed that I had instantly jumped to the conclusion that the store was at fault, and ashamed at how quickly I was ready to march back in that store and tell them how they had screwed up.  And I was frustrated at myself for not reading the fine print in the ad and being more prepared.  Had I realized it wasn't all flavors that were on sale, I would have only chosen the ones that were.  But I didn't.  I hadn't paid attention.  Realizing the fault was with myself and not with the store, I turned my car and headed toward home.  As I processed what had just happened, I was amazed at how God had used something as trivial as a trip to the store to buy cereal to teach me such a valuable lesson. 

How often are we so quick to blame others before checking out the entire situation, or having all the details?  How often do we cast judgement based on what we think we see when in fact we may not have all the information?  Do we point fingers at others quicker than we check our own selves?  It's easy to place blame elsewhere, but its difficult to look introvertly and admit when we're in the wrong.  Yet that's what we are supposed to do.  We are to examine our own lives and confess our own wrong doings instead of trying to find fault and place blame in others. 

"Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgement."  ~John 7:24 (NIV)