Managing a grocery store from a Christian point of view was very rewarding. It opened the doors to countless opportunities. One of the true gifts that a believer can give to the world is that of service. As a store manager I realized that customer service was one of the best ways to build a business. My second store as a manager was a blessing from the Lord.  I was in a great community and had a wonderful staff of employees. It was in this store that I became a role model for my employees. I love being on the sale floor taking care of customers and getting to know them by name.

Meeting the needs of others became one of the greatest activities I did as a store manager. One such activity was support Girl Scout Troop 147. Of course, they would set up and sale their cookies every year at the store, but our store was able to offer them more. For three years our store would help them set up small sidewalk carnivals during different times of the year for their fund-raising activities.  These activities helped pay for their trip to Washington DC, Boston and New York. These events were wonderful because it helped the Girl Scout Troop, but it also generated excitement for the store. They were very creative in the way they ran these carnivals.   As I looked the other day on the wall in my office at home, I could not help but reflect on how special the several plaques  from the Girl Scout Troop 147 that where given to me was such a rewarding time in my life.

After many years our paths have taken us in different directions. I realize that we can not hold on to the past. And yet sometimes the past comes back into our present. When this happens, I hope that what I am remembered the most for, is my reflection of Christ living in me. Yes, we fail in our daily walk in this world and sometimes the pull of earthly things will make us committed to a path that is not pleasing to God.  However, we are given I John 1:6-10 to describes the way a believer’s path in this world should be: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”