Oops. My Bad.

One of the things that gets me aggrivated during the Christmas shopping season is indecisive people who take up space in the store looking for one or two items and keep going back and forth (usually with no concept of where anyone else is in relation to them). Today, I had the fortune of sorts of going to WalMart and looking for something to buy with the holiday gift money I received from my parents and Grandma.

For the record, I'm not someone who feels shopping is a hobby. When I go into a store, I know what I want to get most of the time and try to make my way in and out as quickly as possible. Today, however, I had money, but no real set item or items to buy. This was purely a pleasure trip. And when I go out to shop for pleasure with no set time limit, things can get messy.

At first, I wanted to buy something that would be fun for me. I'm still very much a kid at heart, so my first trip was, naturally, to the toy section. Pacing up and down the aisles and dodging around shoppers and shopping carts parked in inconvenient locations, I came up empty. Next, I went to the electronics section and looked for a CD or DVD. More pacing and dodging, and still nothing that made me want to buy it straight away.

After a couple more passes in both departments, I went to the book section and found something that caught my eye. With my finding faith in God again, I wanted to get a new Bible. I already have a King James Version, but I wanted a New International Version, since it's the version my church uses. And since I'm still green in spiritual matters, I wanted a study bible.

And there it was. An NIV Study Bible within reach and within my price range. But still...it didn't cry out to me "Buy me, ya big lug!" So, I retraced my steps and went back to the toy and electronics sections. As I was about to buy a three-pack of PlayStation 2 games on sale for $10, I realized...I was doing the very thing I disliked others doing when I was shopping.

Once I realized that, I made a decision and bought the NIV Study Bible. Sure, it's not as fun as a remote controlled car or a video game, but I think it's a better investment overall. And I learned an important lesson about showing a bit more understanding towards others. I know the other shoppers aren't purposely trying to block the aisles or get in my way; they're there for the same reason I am. If I can't show a bit of compassion to a fellow traveller in a huge retail chain store, what kind of man would I be?

A grumpy one, but with a new Bible.