Everyone should attend the John Knox School of Grocery Shopping. It would be an experience in the culinary arts that would not soon be forgotten. I have a grocery shopping down to a science. My sweet little bride, however, has never enrolled in my school. She prefers the more traditional approach.

Jan goes to the store armed with a list that few could ever replicate. It always has milk at the top, because the milk is at the far south end of the store. The remainder of the list follows the layout of the store down the final loaf of bread that is stocked on the far north wall, opposite of the milk. She has tried to convert me to using one of her orderly lists on my grocery shopping ventures. It will never work. I really have tried. I generally lose the list before I ever make it to the store. The meticulous method of shopping is just not for me.
My highly recognized school is somewhat unorthodox, when it comes to teaching people how to shop effectively. I too emphasize starting out at the back of the store. Put that milk in the cart first, because there is no concern about getting it crushed. The next step is to go up and down each aisle, and take everything in that good ole’ Walmart is marketing. Does spaghetti sound good for that week? Good! Go and on pick up some sauce and spaghetti. When you get to the cereal aisle, look up high on the shelves, if you want to be healthy. There are weeks when I feel compelled to reject my mother’s constant tendency to buy everything that was healthy and put a big box of Lucky Charms in the cart. Sometimes things that happened in our childhood just affect us. Go up and down every aisle. Don’t miss any of them. Put things in your cart that you know will be used. It is a system that works well, and it actually makes a dutiful chore sort of fun. It is an unorthodox way to shop, but I find that I come home with sacks full of good things.

I have found that my method of shopping is actually applicable to several areas of life. Personal prayer is no exception. Does that sound really strange? A number of years ago I shared a prayer concern with a friend. She took the time right there on the spot to write down the matter I conveyed. When I inquired about what she was writing, she told me it was her prayer list. As a young Christian, I had never heard of such a list. But I was impressed. At various times over the years, I have tried to keep track of a prayer list. I have had about the same amount of success as I do with the grocery list.

I pray much like I shop. When I go for my daily walk, I go up and down the aisles of my life in my head, giving thanks to God for what exists on that aisle. One aisle is designated for family and another one for friends. Still another aisle is designated for sermons and another one for the police officers I serve. It is a visual way to remember all of the important people and issues in life. The first run up and down those aisles is focused exclusively on thanksgiving and praise. Subsequent trips are reserved for intercessory prayers for others, or personal petitions to God. It is probably an unorthodox way to pray, but I find that I come home with a heart full of good things. I wonder if Jan will ask me to do the grocery shopping this week. I doubt it, so I think I will go on a walk while she shops tomorrow.