**Grocery prices have gone from–I’m worried To Good Lord**
God,
How many prayers
do you get at the grocery checkout Line?
I remember how many I gave to you
when we scanned the credit cards
that one of them would not bounce
Two kids, then three, in the card
Aware that people around me were thinking judgmental things
Or back when WIC coupons were paper
Ostentious, Obvious
Burdensome and Slow
And I prayed I picked all the right items
So I wouldn’t hold up the people behind me
While the babies fussed
And everyone judged how many cookies
and healthy and whatever expensive foods
I bought that week.
These days my prayers, I admit,
are less desperate,
But I pray a little prayer
because every single week
the grocery bill goes up
And I feel the panic in my gut
the awareness of days past (PTSD, yes?)
when I would gather up the kids
cereal and yogurt and milk
Putting every drop back when they finished
Loathe to waste a drop,
because we could not afford it
Jesus
You and the Widow know
that you can’t budget your way out of poverty
Only money can help
God, I’m saying a prayer
For all of us who are stressed
Or holding our breath
Or trying not to cry in the checkout line
“Feed my Sheep” You said
“Feed my Sheep” is our prayer in the checkout line.
Feed us, we pray.
Amen.
Feel free to use/share/adapt with credit to Pastor Katy Stenta
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