The Parable of Black Friday at Walmart

I believe that there are parables all around us, just waiting for us to learn from.  Jesus Christ taught through parables and when asked why, He said that those who were ready to understand the teaching and wisdom would understand and those who weren't ready would simply think they were being told a story.  I am learning to see the parable in everyday experiences.  I see them more and more.  Perhaps that ability to see is a gift I've been given. 

So this parable started yesterday, Thanksgiving Day.  I didn't really have a desire to go out and do any Black Friday shopping.  At first, I couldn't talk myself into it.  All the excuses, I need to work on Friday, I don't really "have to have" anything that is being advertised, etc.  The reality, I just didn't want to put forth the effort.  With Walmart starting their sale Thursday night, I could certainly do that and there was one item on sale that I would like to pick up for someone.  It would give me an opportunity to just go out and get my shopping started, to at least feel like I was moving into the Christmas season.  So I decided to go.  I formed a plan, just a simple one.  There was only that one item that I was really venturing out for, but while there and waiting for the time when it went on sale, I would brave the isles of toys and shop for the grand kids.  Now you need to understand, if you haven't guessed already, I am not a seasoned Black Friday shopper.  I have only ventured out 3 or 4 times in my life.  Last year I experienced the lines of waiting for that wonderful TV.  I got my ticket, waited for over an hour with many others in line, but knew that once I had my ticket, it was just a matter of waiting and walking up with all the others, nice and orderly, to receive my TV.  So this year was certainly an eye opener.  I started to make my way through the store to where I thought this item would be sold.  I realized I really didn't have a clue where to go and asked a store associate who told me that it would be over in the action isle by the groceries.  Okay the term "action isle" should have been my first clue, but still clueless.  As I got closer, and it was now about 20 minutes before the item was to go on sale, I saw mobs of people in this action isle and could not see what items were stacked up in the isle.  I asked some of the people to only find out that there were numerous items here and to realize that I had no idea how to find my item.  There was a young man who asked me what I was looking for.  He was not a store employee.  He was just a shopper standing with the mobs to get some much wanted items for himself.  I told him and he said, "Just wait here a minute I'll find out where it is".  Did I forget to mention I had a cart full of toys and no one with me to man the cart while I braved the crowd.  This young man came back and said, "It's further down the line", and pointed toward the front of the store.  I thanked him and proceeded, trying to maneuver my cart down to where I needed to be.  It was an impossible task and this young man again stepped forward, grabbed the front of my cart and led the way as he moved people from my path.  At one point I decided to take a detour and just go through a grocery isle then take a less busy isle down and come back over to the action isle.  I thanked him and we parted.  My first attempt at this was unsuccessful.  I wasn't far enough down.  How did I know this?  Because that young man was edging his way down also, to find MY item and motioned to me to go 2 more isles down.  I got to the masses again at just the exact spot.  I still could not see my item, but that young man told me it was right in front of me, I just had to trust him.  I thanked him again and he left.  Now there was about 5 minutes left.  As I said earlier, I had only experienced the nice orderly line with a ticket in my hand before.  I now had a glimpse of my item.  I could see through the mob a very small stack of what I had ventured out for.  Maybe only 25-30 of them.  How incredibly ridiculous was that.  It was becoming ever so clear that this was going to be different than anything I had ever experienced before.  I think the 7ft,  375+ lb tattooed store employee (aka the bouncer) who was pacing up and down between the mob and the row of stacked items was my first really big clue.  He was shouting to everyone to NOT RUSH THE STACKS AND TO LET HIS ASSOCIATES DO THEIR JOB, as they removed the plastic from the stacks.  He was shouting that the police officers, who were armed by the way, would not hesitate to escort anyone out of the store who did not comply.  HOLY COW, WHAT WAS I IN FOR? 

Okay to finish my story, I got my item!  It was total madness for about 45 seconds before I had my item in my hand.  There was a woman there who was watching her cart while her daughter braved the front lines and agreed to watch mine also.  There was also a woman in front of me who, a few minutes later, found me to give me the extra item she grabbed for me, just in case I didn't get mine.  I left the store feeling very accomplished and wanting to blog my experience.  I wanted to write something clever and witty that would make people laugh and say, "Wow, you are a really great writer".  All I could think of was the metaphor of the battle and front lines and such, but that has been written and rewritten.  So I came home and went to bed.

I woke up really early this morning and couldn't sleep.  My parable was made clear.  What did I learn?  Well, first my hesitancy to just go, to just put myself out there in the crowds would have kept me from experiencing this parable.  My clueless state of mind, was soon replaced with anxiety and even a little fear.  There was someone there to help me along the way, even lead me when I didn't know where I was going and couldn't even see the goal.  There was someone there to watch my cart, or my burden, while I ventured on.  In the midst of chaos, I soon realized it was brief and I had my reward in my hand, my own doing.  But just in case I didn't get my reward by myself, there was someone there to do it for me and hand it to me.  All because I put myself in the position to get want I wanted and to receive the prize.  And finally, as I left the store and was pondering how to blog about this experience, and wanting people to ooh and aah over my story, I realized it's okay to need people to build me up.  It's okay to thrive on the positive and it's okay to love my new found writing passion.  So if you enjoy what you read, whether this post or others, don't hesitate to comment on it at the bottom.  I need your positive thoughts to help keep me going some days.  We all need each other to help us through a lousy day, or a lousy life.  We don't know what our efforts or our comments will accomplish, but let's not hold back or keep them to ourselves.  Others need us and we are here to help each other.