Conscience, Thy Name is Jan

Last Saturday, I had a glorious day. After being cooped up in my house for three days due to an ice storm, I escaped on a bright sunny morning to frolic around town. I now know how a caged animal feels. I started the day at breakfast with Becky. She recently married a friend of mine, Garett, and he made a wise choice in Becky. I enjoy spending time with her...it is always so refreshing.

Then after an errand or two, I was off to lunch with my sweet friend, Carol. Carol was one of my college leaders at church, one of my Mom's best friends, a confidante from way back, and a wise woman. We hadn't gotten to spend much time together due to the holidays, so it was good to catch up with her, laugh with her, and share memories of my Mom with her. Our times together are never without her sharing a story between her and my Mom. I cherish those stories.

After my day of fun, it was time to get some things accomplished and off to the grocery I went. It was late in the day as the sun was setting and I was ready to get my groceries, unload them, and settle in for the evening. The girl at checkout was unusually nice. Normally I seem to hit the line that has the checker who has endured all the crazy customers for the last four hours. She was fast, she was talkative, and she was a good bagger. I headed home and started unloading my groceries when I realized I had an extra jug of milk. Ugh. All of a sudden the thoughts flooded my mind. "What do I do?" "The right thing is to drive this back to the store." "But, it's late and the person that probably didn't get their milk is already back there to complain." "It doesn't matter the circumstances, it's the right thing." I could have sworn I saw a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. It's times like these when I realize how fallen I am.

I decided to keep on unloading and then I'd check the ticket to make sure I didn't pay for both of those jugs of milk. Yeah, that's probably what happened, I paid for them. As I continued, my friend, Jan called. We laughed and talked and then....wham....a dozen eggs I did not pick up now magically appeared on my counter. Sheesh. The devil and the angel on my shoulders were at it again. "Now it's milk and eggs." "Well, I'm almost out of eggs, maybe this is a blessing from God." "But if you didn't pay for them, maybe it's a test of your honesty and integrity." At that point, I decided to confess to Jan. I've recently become her accountability partner and what better time to put this into action. Jan, without hesitation, said, "You need to take them back." She was right. I knew she was right. After the day of blessings I had, why would I not do the right thing? I got off the phone with her, finished unloading the goods, then checked the receipt just to make sure. Only one jug of milk charged and no eggs. Off I go.

As I drove back to the store, I realized I needed to get in a right spirit about this. It is the right thing to do, but not if I'm grumbling and huffing the whole way. That brought back memories of childhood when my Mom would tell me to do something and I'd do it, but complain the whole time. I walked into the store and gave the goods to the customer service desk and explained what happened. She thanked me for my honesty. I got to walk out to the parking lot and have a great chat with a woman who I think thought I was nuts, so that was entertaining. Nonetheless, with all my kicking and screaming, I'm glad I did the right thing. Thanks, Jan, for reminding me.

I slept like a baby that night.