Grocery Shopping.

Hey Beautifuls.

Picture this: An adorable four year old with cute little blonde pig tails and big green eyes. Let’s just call her Kaylee (okay yes, that would be me).

My mom has decided to take me to the grocery store for what she thought would be a quick five-minute run through. Who is she kidding?

I have my own idea of grocery shopping. The first aisle we walk down we pick out some spices together and my mom takes off walking, but I sort of dilly dally around checking out every inch of shelf - in a way, intrigued by all there is to offer. And then it happens…I somehow manage to spot a bag of E.L. Fudge M&M cookies and stop dead in my tracks. "Whoa! I want this!" I scream.

As I’m stopped dead in my tracks my mom has rounded the next corner only to realize I’m not there. She peeks around the corner. “Kaylee, hurry up, come on." I quickly grab the bag and take off running to catch up.

When I finally catch up (come on now, my legs are shorter than hers) we pick out some vegetables together, but then I see some mountain dew and once again stop dead in my tracks "Mom, I want this. Can we get this?” She simply says, "Kaylee, we don't need that right now. It's not good for you, anyway. Come on let's go."

What do I do? I drop to my face right then and there in front of everyone in the store and start crying, as I continue on to throw the ultimate temper tantrum. (Some of you have a very vivid picture of this right now, for that I apologize) "But mom, I want these things, I need these things." My mom simply says, "No." While sometimes I put the item back on the shelf other times I wait till she's not looking and grab it.

Anyway, something like this seems to happen with every aisle we go down and by the time my mom and I get to the check out line I not only have the title of "did you see that little brat in the grocery store" but I also have got myself a feast of cookies, ice cream, pop, candy, chips, and goodness knows what else. I should have grabbed some Pepcid AC while I was at it, but okay right, remember I’m four, I can't even pronounce Pepcid AC.

As I stand there with an armful of "crap” my mom simply looks at me and says "Kaylee, I told you to put some of that back. Why didn't you? Besides you can't have all that. You need to eat healthy food. Look at all the stuff we picked out together. These are the things that won’t give you a stomach ache, things that will help you grow and keep you healthy." At this moment I’m feeling a little guilty for grabbing what she told me not to so I put everything back. When I return from returning, I look into my mom's grocery cart and two of the things I see are broccoli and slices of cheese. (Okay guys, confession as a little girl truthfully one of my favorite things to eat was cooked broccoli with cheese melted on top). As I look at this I realize that the whole time we were walking up and down the aisles my mom was really shopping for me. She picked out what would be the healthiest for me. She picked out what truthfully was my favorite food to eat, and yet what would still be the best for me.

I look farther into the cart and I see all of my family's favorite healthy foods. Wow, my mom was taking care of all of us; she didn't miss one of us. And this whole time while I was trying to "scope" everything out I should have been watching to see what she was picking out and learned to pick out what was best for me and my family.

Is there a Point? Let's hope....

Okay, so here is where I’m supposed to make a connection. This story of "grocery trip with mom" is much like my walk with God for a few reasons:

Sometimes I tend to dilly-dally around not keeping my eyes on the check out aisle, which is Heaven. I start to look at all the world has to offer. Sometimes I simply glance at worldly things. Sometimes I stop to look and God has to beckon me back, but I might still grab what I see and run to catch up to God; though the more I carry the harder it is to catch up. Sometimes I stay where I’m at and God literally has to come to me and make me drop what I can't drop on my own. (Sometimes it takes a temper tantrum in order to drop it).

When I take my last breath and see God face-to-face, God will ask me what I picked out. He’ll ask me why I picked out some of the "unhealthy," worldly things. I’ll be held accountable for every grocery item good or bad, so it's best if I just shop with God instead of trying to do it by myself. I know my walk would move a lot faster that's for sure. Plus, the more I dilly dally or flat out stop and look, the farther I pull myself away from God.

God grocery shops for all. When we get to Heaven we'll realize that this grocery cart, this world was for all. He fills the cart with good things for each of us. He wants us to be healthy and He wants the best for each of us. Some of the "grocery" items are different for each of us depending on how He wants to use us and what is best for our differentiated needs.

I hope this made some sort of sense because I’m still trying to piece it together. I certainly hope it doesn't freak you out next time you go to buy cookies.

Cheering you on today as you experience your "grocery trip with God."

May you come to trust in His ways.

Kaylee