Go Mama Go

Few things really stress me out.  Granted, I can certainly become passionate about certain things and I'll admit I lean towards a competitive nature.  ;)  But, I generally roll with the punches and don't get stressed easily.The one thing that stresses me out the most, hands down, here in Germany is the grocery store check out line.Let me give you a little background... When Lance and I got married, we lived in small town in West Texas.  The grocery store check out line was the furthest thing from stressful.  They would bag up your groceries for you, carry them to your car and load them into your trunk (or back seat) for you. This was the norm.  It's what I knew (and probably under appreciated).When Boston was a baby, we moved to South Texas.  The first time I went grocery shopping, the checker asked me if I wanted him to help me with my bags.  Granted, he had already bagged them up for me and put them back into my grocery cart, but I was taken aback by this question.  Of course I wanted him to help me with my bags - isn't that what he was supposed to do?  I quickly learned that the small town West Texas charm of "helping" with the bags was more of a courtesy, in other places, for customers who might actually NEED such help.  While I was certainly capable of taking my own grocery bags and loading them into my car, it still took some getting used to since it was not what I knew to be the cultural norm.The Self Checkout craze has hit North America in the last year or so, and now it is becoming a cultural norm for you to scan and bag your own groceries, and of course take them to your own car.  I didn't hate this craze, because you could scan and bag at your own pace (which was sometimes faster than waiting to have the employee do it).Now, what is so stressful about the German grocery store check out line for me?  These checkers are crazy fast and the lines are almost always long.  I routinely forget to bring my own bags, so I'm constantly having to estimate how many of their bags do I want to purchase and add to my ever growing stash at home.   Then, they just start sliding your groceries down the mini check out ramp and they just start piling up.  The next person in line is already creeping up into your space and you haven't even paid yet.  You're still busy frantically trying to get these bags you just purchased to open up somewhere amidst the mound of items that have slid down the ramp so you can try and strategically place the heavy things on the bottom and reserve space on top for things like bread and chips and eggs.  But what really ends up happening for me, is that I just start throwing stuff in, because it's time to pay and answer the clerks questions IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE, and get my crap out of the way so as not to anger the next 20 people in line.  Then, my overstuffed bag is way to heavy to even attempt to carry because I grossly underestimated the number of bags I should have purchased.It's stressful, y'all!  However, my nature is to prove that I can handle it, that I've got it under control.  Thankfully, I've never broken down crying in the check out line, and I am actually getting better - at remembering to bring those bags, at strategically placing the heavy things first on the conveyer belt.  But, it is still super stressful to me.  So, the other day Magnolia and I are at the grocery store and I am frantically placing the massive items like toilet paper rolls on the bottom rack of the cart and hanging one bag on the handle of the cart for chips and light things and throwing the non-breakables into the other open bags.  Out of nowhere, Magnolia just starts chanting "Go Mama Go!"  She even added in a "You can do it!"  I almost cried for the first time in the check out line.  How did she even know that I was doing something that needing cheering on?!  I must not have been hiding my stress as well as I had thought, I guess.  Her encouragement was so timely and incredible, and I hope I hear it over and over in my head every time I'm in the grocery store check out line.Y'all - this is the life that God has called each of us to live -- to recognize when those around us need encouragement.  It might sound silly for you to start chanting in a grocery store check out line, but who cares?  When God prompts your heart to cheer one another on, don't hesitate!  Your obedience to love and encourage will likely be divinely on time for someone else.TeamDockrey wants to say THANK YOU to each and every one of you.  Your love and support and financial sacrifices are what cheer us on.  You are literally the embodiment of what Christ instructed the church to be, as you love and encourage us.  Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  Because of you, we are able to care for and invest in the children of missionaries who are serving all over the globe.  Because of you, we get to cheer on and hold up and encourage the workers God has placed in the dark places of the earth.  It's such a beautiful thing to be on God's team, for each of us to live out the specific calling God places on our lives and to see how it all fits together.We would love to be able to stay here in Germany and cheer on these missionary families, but we're going to need a little help in order to do that.  If you feel like God might be calling you to support us financially with a monthly or annual gift, please follow this link to set up a commitment.  We would be thrilled and humbled to be in this together with you.Happy #GivingTuesday!