Finding the Good

 I had an experience yesterday I would like to share.

I was scheduled to work 5 hours yesterday, meaning no lunch break. However, because we were short people, I was asked to stay in longer; which forced me to take a lunch. So, I clock out, grab my stuff, and walk next door to Ralphs. Normally I bring my own lunch, but since I hadn't planned on taking one to begin with, I thought I might as well walk over and buy a sandwich or something.

I arrived at Ralph's, and headed over to the deli department. I didn't see anyone at first, and I impatiently began pacing around, mumbling something about customer service. Now, there was a pattern I noticed about some coworkers of mine; they tend to buy their lunch, come back, THEN clock out for lunch. In my opinion, however, it's dishonest. You spend 10 minutes or more getting your food, then take a half hour to eat it; that's a long lunch break.

Anyway, a male customer walked up to the deli, didn't see anyone, and impatiently grabbed another man who works at Ralph's to ask for help. The worker made his way to the deli counter. Since I had been there first, the male customer allowed me to place my order first. I asked for a sandwich which had to be made by the worker. I quickly discovered this worker was rather new to his job. He kept disappearing to find the appropriate ingredients to my sandwich. I continuously glanced over the clock and grew even more impatient by the minute. I only had half an hour to begin with, and now I was losing time for my lunch break. My feet hurt, and my body was tired from all the lifting, bending, and cleaning of animal cages. The minutes pressed on, and the male customer walked up to me from behind, and began cracking jokes about the worker. I laughed and found myself about to join in about how long he was taking. I then looked over at the worker, and everything changed. This man, working at the deli, was probably in his 40's or 50's. As he struggled to perfect my sandwich, he had a smile on his face. He told a joke or two, and was very friendly to me. It hit me; maybe this man was here because he lost his job in the recession? Maybe over the years he raised a family, therefore never finding the appropriate time to finish school? I wasn't sure.

I realized, however,  he was working hard just to make me a stupid sandwich. I began to feel guilty for being so angry with him. He probably had a family to provide for, and this was his way of putting bread on the table. Besides, I'm sure enough impatient customers will chew him out, tap their fingers on the counter and give him a hard time. I didn't want to be one of them. He continued, with a smile on his face, and all impatience drained out of me. I examined him and I no longer felt myself angry, irritated, nor annoyed. Instead, I smiled back and decided to ignore the grumpy customer behind me. Here I am, ordering food on my lunch break; from the job I have, a second income to my husband's amazing job. I had no right to be mad at this man, struggling to do his best. Besides, it was a sandwich. Not the end of the world.

He finally had finished, and I thanked him and went along my way, happily. Sure, I had 8 minutes to get back to the store and eat my lunch, but I wasn't annoyed about it anymore. While sitting in the break room, I blessed my food, and while doing so, thanked Heavenly Father for the customer service I received, and thanked Him for providing this worker a job, and for the blessings I had received earlier.

Now, I'm not doing this to brag about how awesome I am; because sure, I've been impatient many times, I've snapped many times, I've walked away from small things being very irritable. I'm not perfect. But it felt nice this time, to be able to stop, examine the situation, and find the good.

As a challenge, next time you find yourself impatient, annoyed, or irritated, stop and give yourself a moment to examine everything. Find the good, find things to be grateful for. It makes a marvelous difference.

After coming home from work, I e-mailed that same Ralph's, mentioning that man's name, and put in a good word about his customer service. Hey, he made me a sandwich; I might as well make his day.