Kendall is an educator in the public schools, just finished seminary, and is an avid lover of books, nature, and long walks. She is easily distracted by thunderstorms and loves a good conversation over coffee.
It was an ordinary day. In fact, by my standards, I could call it “sub par” because I had to physically go in to Walmart. I have a love/hate relationship with Walmart—I always find new stuff that I want, and, you just never know what—or who—you will see in there. I often feel worse about the world in which I live after a trip to Walmart, so needless to say, I avoid it at all costs. It’s an interesting place.
On this particular day, I had to return something I’d purchased. The line for returns is always longer than I think it should be. I got in line clutching my bag behind an old couple. They’d been through a lot, I could tell: long, scraggly gray hair, missing teeth, wrinkles…I studied them for a moment, wondering about their story.
As the registers beeped around me and people pushed wayward carts through crowded aisles, something strange happened. Suddenly, this couple transformed into Abraham and Sarah, from Genesis. You know, the ones who left their homeland and wandered to a new land? The ones for whom God had promised a family as numerous as the stars in the sky? The ones through whom God would bless the entire earth? Yep. There they were, standing in front of me at Walmart.
My heart softened towards them. I thought about how out of place they looked and suddenly it all made sense. They were foreigners in a strange land. And the wrinkles? The gray hair? The missing teeth? Their unkempt appearance? Of course! What else would you expect for a couple who’d been through what they’d been through. Weary travelers, decades of infertility, heartbreak, meeting angels, almost losing their only son…
Their presence brought a smile to my face and a deep gratitude to my heart.
Sometimes, God breaks into our humdrum reality with visions and experiences that defy explanation. We are suddenly made aware of a reality that exists outside of our normal experiences. A sunset becomes alive with God’s Presence. A bird flying through the air captures our imagination. The breeze whispers God’s reassuring message of Hope. The waves of the ocean settle us. The thunderstorm reminds us of God’s power and goodness. Abraham and Sarah show up at Walmart.
Are we paying attention? Are we open to the possibilities? It requires us to listen, to watch, to not be on our phones at every dull moment. I can’t help but share Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s often-shared poem:
Earth’s crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes,
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries,
And daub their natural faces unaware.
I will tell you, I did not expect God to break through in that moment in the returns line at Walmart. Most of the time, I am too annoyed and distracted to notice. Dallas Willard writes that “heaven is here and God is here, because God and his spiritual agents act here and are constantly available here”. Rather than God existing out there: outer space, the skies, a faraway kingdom, Willard insists that this God is “literally with us in surrounding space”!*
Are we ready to see? Are we ready to pay attention? Do we expect to see God show up in the returns line at Walmart? Or are we occupying our attention with our phones? {OUCH} Let’s pay attention today. Earth’s crammed with heaven!
*Quotes are from Dallas Willard’s book, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God