Changing in the Checkout Line
Colossians 1:11 — We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy.
I only needed a few groceries—which is Southern for this should’ve taken ten minutes, tops.
It was one of those days where my to-do list had a to-do list. I was already behind, but I though I would just run in the store really quick. No browsing. No wandering. Just get the milk, get the bread, and get gone.
I picked the shortest check out line. Naturally. But that’s when the woman in front of me opened her purse.
Now listen—folks don’t really use coupons like they used to. But this woman? She had a stack thick enough to fan herself with. One coupon. Beep. Didn’t work. Another. Beep. Still didn’t work. The cashier tried again, then leaned over and typed like she was cracking a safe.
I could feel it in my body. My jaw got tight. My foot started tapping. I start doing that slow inhale, exhale thing because I had to remind myself I am a grown woman, saved, and I am not about to lose my Jesus over a box of cereal.
And right there—in the check out line of all places—I remembered a verse I’d read once.
Colossians 1:11, “Being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.”
That’s what I needed more than anything. I needed to choose endurance, to choose patience, and to choose joy. And you know, not through gritted teeth or by faking positivity.
Now, the coupons still wouldn’t scan, and the cashier still had to call for help. But as I sat with that verse, I loosened my grip on the cart. I gave up my frazzled stress, and I chose a better attitude.
When I walked out to my car, groceries tucked under my arm, I realized something: endurance isn’t about how fast we get through stuff. It’s more about what comes out of us while we’re being tested. And patience—real patience—has a way of pointing people back to the heart of God because of the way we treat them.
Most days, we’re not tested in the big moments. We’re tested in checkout lines and traffic and interruptions we didn’t plan. And Colossians 1:11 reminds us we’re not white-knuckling our way through it alone. There’s strength available. There enough endurance, patience, and joy to spare.
So maybe today, when things get a little frustrating, you’ll let that verse find its way back to mind. And maybe—right there in the middle of it—you discover that strength looks a lot like choosing grace when nobody would blame you for choosing frustration.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- Where in your life right now are you being asked to practice endurance and patience instead of speed and control?
- What does it look like for you to rely on God’s strength—not just to get through frustration, but to respond with joy in it?
- How might choosing grace in small, unnoticed moments point someone else to the heart of God today?
