Taking God to the Grocery Store
Average Rating: 
[3 Comments]
I can't stand grocery shopping. Making a list of what we need, cutting and sorting coupons, and trudging the supermarket aisles mark the height of tedium for me. Add to that the fact that it has to be done over and over and it equals one really bothersome task. Or at least it did—until I brought God into the mix.
Three years ago a friend told me about a website that posts the current deals on groceries. This friend explained how, with the help of this site, she was paying less than a dollar per box for cereal.
One dollar? I thought. I regularly paid three times that! My thrift radar went into action. I took down the web address and vowed to check it out.
Within two weeks I was hooked. The Internet became my new tool for maximizing my grocery store savings. I scouted deals, devised transaction scenarios, and collected coupon inserts. Couponing terms like Catalina and rolling filled my conversations. Grocery shopping had become a game. And I wanted to win.
I found only one drawback to my new method of grocery shopping: it made me vulnerable. The biggest savings strategy required buying several months' worth of groceries when the price dropped to its lowest. Then I was supposed to "shop" out of my pantry. But what if I calculated wrong and ran out before another sale? Then what would happen?
Driving to the store any time I ran out of something had been my habit, but it cramped my new routine. I couldn't justify paying regular store prices any more. As space in my pantry would appear, I'd think, Now what can I do? There isn't a sale on this right now. I knew I should wait, but sometimes I'd fall back on the convenience of stopping at the store to fill those gaps. And then I'd be frustrated with myself. What was I doing wrong?
In the back of my mind, I wondered if the answer could be prayer. After all, Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread. Supplying our needs was part of God's plan. But how did that fit into my grocery shopping? I'd been used to thanking God for providing the means toward my daily bread (otherwise known as my husband's job). What if I asked God to provide the daily bread itself? What if I prayed about the food in my pantry?
Praying for My Daily Bread
I decided to give prayer a try. It seemed goofy that first time. Standing in front of a nearly filled closet of food, I asked God for sugar "at a decent price." I made no excuses. I made no assumptions. I just told God that I knew he could do it and I acknowledged that he'd filled that pantry to begin with. Would he bring me sugar?
Later that week I made my shopping trip. I'd forgotten that prayer until I walked down the baking aisle. The sugar was on sale! The discount wasn't remarkable, but it was tolerable. Had God provided? I wasn't sure, but I cheered with my kids about it anyway. Maybe God would give us more than just the means for our daily bread.
Related Topics:
Food, praying, Service, Serving, Sharing, Shopping
More from Lara Krupicka:
Kyria.com | Books
Join the Kyria.com Community!
Become a member to have access to the following:
- Full access to the bimonthly Kyria digizine, each issue focusing on a spiritual discipline or theme
- 50 percent discount on all of the downloadable resources in the Kyria Store
- Hundreds of members-only articles for thoughtful, influential women
downloadable guides
Sabbath Rest in a World of Stress
Practical insights for how to live a life that honors the spirit of Sabbath-rest.
The Mentoring Series: Nancy Ortberg
Discover leadership principles from a well-known author and respected leader.Browse More Guides
back to top
Average User Rating:
john
I am puzzled by a few ideas in this article. One, where does a month's supply of anything fit in with the author's reference to "...our daily bread"? Two, does the author realize that her savings come at the expense of the primary producer, not the store or processor? I understand the need for budgeting, but are cheap goods the only concern? As a farmer - a primary producer of food - I just find this kind of thinking a bit depressing because I know the I am ultimately the one who is providing the "free" food to the food bank. But I guess it's OK if one doesn't mind the complete dehumanization of the production of the food we need to keep body and soul together. It's just degraded into another commodity like gas and oil.
Mari
God is Jehovak Jireh, our provider.I learned that I could ask for the small things as well as other things.Our needs are important to him. No request is so small that God does not care to grant it.
C
This is everyday ministry, in an area where we've already been sent and trained, and where we need to train others. Thanks!
Rate & Comment on this article *