The Moments Life Gives Us | Laurie Polich Short

Last week I had a moment with a baby.
One I would have missed had I not stopped to look.

I was rushing through the checkout line grabbing some groceries. He was perched in a stroller behind me, squealing with delight.
I had to stop and see what in the world had captured his attention. Searching the angle of his eyes, I discovered what he saw.
It was the entrance to Trader Joes.
That was it.

Every time the sliding door opened, the baby cheered as a shopper entered the store.
And suddenly, we all felt like cheering with him.
Smiles swept across our check out line, and we were carried into his celebration.

He didn’t know enough to realize entering a store was not worth cheering about.
Or maybe we didn’t know enough to realize it was.

Right smack in the middle of the busyness of our days that baby gave us a little taste of God. And every shopper who entered his space felt like they had won an award.

I walked away wondering what life would be like if I lived like that baby. To assume that at least half the people you see on any given day are living courageously. To look them in the eye and cheer the brave choices they make. People you pass by are tirelessly caring for aging parents; others are working three jobs so they can feed their kids. Some are hanging on to battle an addiction. Or facing a battleground when they enter their homes.
You may have just passed someone who has been told they- or someone they love- has three months left to live.

If we took the time to really see each other, we’d all be cheering. Because we’d know there are people around us who needed courage just to get up

I’m thinking we should make that baby the grocery greeter.
It appears that last week, God already did.

5 Comments

Gini bunnell on March 24, 2015 at 9:50 pm

Oh Laurie…thanks for the reminder…and the encouragement!

Ann on March 24, 2015 at 10:43 pm

This is exactly the attitude we should all have in our churches when each person walks in…..celebrating them and making them feel like the most important person we have ever seen! They could be angels just checking to see if we are being the hands and feet of Christ….as well as His open arms and His smile!
Absolutely loved this story of the joyful, little grocery greeter!
I can’t wait to greet you again at Life Community Church!

John on March 25, 2015 at 4:51 am

What a great piece!

Priscilla Mori on March 25, 2015 at 7:16 am

Thanks for paying attention that day and for sharing this—a great reminder about the preciousness all around us all the time. May we slow down enough to notice!

David Bradley on March 30, 2015 at 7:35 am

We are moved by your postings, Laurie…each one touches us in a very special way and we thank you so much for sharing your blog with us. May I share a brief story with you and your subscribers? The night before last, we experienced a power cut lasting around three hours…due, we found out later, to a major fault in the area. We could not find the hand lamp we use in the attic (where we never had a lamp connected), my daughter was in the shower, (electric) when all the lights of the neighbourhood went out and we were plunged into total darkeness and silence apart from house alarms in the area that had become confused. Georgia’s hair was full of shampoo so my wife boiled a saucepan of warm water on the gas stove….fortunately we are not all electric!!! I used the light from my phone to call the supply company and was told that before my call could be taken I’d have to quote a 13 digit number from my most recent bill….which I could not find in the dark. We were all grumbling about this gross inconvenience, how we could not watch the programme we’d be watching etc. Then, when we had all decided that the best thing to do was get some sleep, all the lights came back on along with the TV, and from downstairs the music of Westlife or One Direction (all sounds the same to me) was blasting at full volume….by now it was 1 a.m. Anyway, this power cut turned out to be a good thing because a presentation was given in church yesterday that really made us think…..one of the slides showed a satellie picture of Syria from 2011. The next one showed a satellie picture of Syria from 2015. The first was full of lights and the second almost total darkness. Since 2011 Syria has lost 83% of its light. 83%!!! So our minor inconvenience was irrelevant. What must it be like for these people who not only have no electricity but no proper water or sanitation facilities? Yet we have the comfort of a home with all the facilities we need but when just one service malfunctions we think it’s the end of the world.

Gini bunnell on March 24, 2015 at 9:50 pm

Oh Laurie…thanks for the reminder…and the encouragement!
Ann on March 24, 2015 at 10:43 pm

This is exactly the attitude we should all have in our churches when each person walks in…..celebrating them and making them feel like the most important person we have ever seen! They could be angels just checking to see if we are being the hands and feet of Christ….as well as His open arms and His smile!
Absolutely loved this story of the joyful, little grocery greeter!
I can’t wait to greet you again at Life Community Church!
John on March 25, 2015 at 4:51 am

What a great piece!
Priscilla Mori on March 25, 2015 at 7:16 am

Thanks for paying attention that day and for sharing this—a great reminder about the preciousness all around us all the time. May we slow down enough to notice!
David Bradley on March 30, 2015 at 7:35 am

We are moved by your postings, Laurie…each one touches us in a very special way and we thank you so much for sharing your blog with us. May I share a brief story with you and your subscribers? The night before last, we experienced a power cut lasting around three hours…due, we found out later, to a major fault in the area. We could not find the hand lamp we use in the attic (where we never had a lamp connected), my daughter was in the shower, (electric) when all the lights of the neighbourhood went out and we were plunged into total darkeness and silence apart from house alarms in the area that had become confused. Georgia’s hair was full of shampoo so my wife boiled a saucepan of warm water on the gas stove….fortunately we are not all electric!!! I used the light from my phone to call the supply company and was told that before my call could be taken I’d have to quote a 13 digit number from my most recent bill….which I could not find in the dark. We were all grumbling about this gross inconvenience, how we could not watch the programme we’d be watching etc. Then, when we had all decided that the best thing to do was get some sleep, all the lights came back on along with the TV, and from downstairs the music of Westlife or One Direction (all sounds the same to me) was blasting at full volume….by now it was 1 a.m. Anyway, this power cut turned out to be a good thing because a presentation was given in church yesterday that really made us think…..one of the slides showed a satellie picture of Syria from 2011. The next one showed a satellie picture of Syria from 2015. The first was full of lights and the second almost total darkness. Since 2011 Syria has lost 83% of its light. 83%!!! So our minor inconvenience was irrelevant. What must it be like for these people who not only have no electricity but no proper water or sanitation facilities? Yet we have the comfort of a home with all the facilities we need but when just one service malfunctions we think it’s the end of the world.