Krispy Kreme grace

This must be a dad kind of thing, but I enjoy taking the kids out for doughnuts, though I try to limit it to once a week. (My 21-month-old now says "dough-dough.") For some reason, my daughter likes Dunkin Donuts the best even when there are much better doughnuts at a local bakery in Deerfield. So we take turns. One time, my bakery, the other time, hers. Other times, we really splurge and drive about 20 minutes to a Krispy Kreme. Krispy Kremes are everywhere now, but I first had one before they migrated north in Birmingham, Alabama. That was an epiphany. The highlight for the kids, though, are seeing them made. One of the things I like about KK is the sense of abundance. Whenever we go in, we all get a free glazed right off the conveyer belt, hot and soft. The people there are always happy to see us and appear to be so eager to please.

Contrast that attitude with a trip to Radio Shack later that day (last Monday). I shouldn't pick on Radio Shack because so many other businesses do this, but I simply wanted to buy a cable that would connect my computer to a TV. As I waited to pay, watching Ethan try every radio-controlled car in sight and Caroline ogle a Barbie computer, the salesperson slid a mobile phone in front of me. "Have you seen the new Motorola phone?" (There was a name for it that I can't recall--probably something Razr because doesn't Motorola make Razr phones?) I smiled weakly and said, "It's nice." He then engaged me in discussion about my cell phone carrier and whether we were happy with it and this brought out my frustration with suggestive selling. Suggestive sellers are never satisfied. It wasn't enough that I was buying this cable. I had to buy more to satisfy the salesperson.

It was such a contrast between these two experiences and it has something to do with being the church, but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe there's a Prodigal Son thing going on here. When we return to Krispy Kreme, we're welcomed and given the fatted calf/doughnut. That's a great feeling. When we go to other businesses where there's suggestive selling, there's a sense that one has to earn grace or love or satisfaction. One can never purchase or do enough.