‘The winner is you’

Some days when it’s time to make our weekly grocery run, I drag my feet a little bit. I know that once I get to the store, I’ll have to make a thousand decisions about what we’ll eat based on what’s available – and what’s on sale. I’ll fill the cart, load it all on the conveyor belt, load it back into the cart, unload it into the car and then carry all the bags into our house.

Then I will need to put everything away. Spending an hour or two handling the grocery shopping for the week isn’t really a big deal. When I’m making my list and preparing to leave the house, however, it can feel like a big undertaking.

Still, there is a cashier at one of the stores where I shop who helps me keep it all in perspective. When he rings up each order, right before he announces the likely-quite-sizeable amount you owe, he pauses for dramatic effect. Then he says, “We have a winner, and the winner is you!”

Those words always make me smile.

The winner is you.

What a wonderful reminder that in the chaos and craziness of daily life, we have so much to be grateful for. We can complain on and on about the price of groceries, which just keeps climbing. The line at the deli might be so long you can’t wait for the employees to shave some ham for you. The avocados might be too ripe or not ripe enough. They might be out of rotisserie chickens and your child’s favorite cereal. You may have to wait 10 minutes to choose your eggs because three other shoppers are carefully making sure that none of them are broken.

But being able to walk out of a store with food for yourself and your family is a victory. Just being alive is a win. Just opening your eyes for another day is a tremendous gift.

The winner is you.

That simple phrase makes me view the whole shopping expedition differently. I find myself thinking of the work of so many people who grow and prepare the food I’m lucky enough to purchase. I remember how fortunate I am to be able to go to a store that’s just minutes from my house – and how I have other stores to choose from, too. I think of how fortunate we are to have enough – and more than enough.

The winner is you.

What a wonderful reminder that seeking gratitude in the ordinary chores and experiences of the day can bring so much clarity of purpose and joy.

The whole grocery store trip is a different experience when I remind myself how blessed we are to have all we have – and even what a gift the time in the store can be itself. There are the encounters with strangers and sometimes even friends. There is the sense of discovery at seeing what’s fresh, available and on sale. There is the feeling of new opportunities as you arrive home with all the ingredients for wonderful meals ahead.

“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that he, in his goodness, sends to us day after day,” St. Gianna Molla said.

Even through the challenges of each day, may we find moments to remember that we are the recipients of so many gifts. Because without doubt, God has chosen a winner, and the winner is you.

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