When God Speaks Through Water Bottles

Ya'll, I was not expecting to get a whole spiritual download in the water aisle at the grocery store last week, but here we are. Sometimes God speaks in the most unexpected places, and apparently, He has a lot to say about my stubborn inability to let people help me.

So picture this, I'm at the store picking up cases of water for our church picnic, already running on fumes because I'd been doing errands all day. I spot this display in the middle of the aisle with a big old sign that says "3 cases for $10.88." There's Nature's Promise and Poland Spring sitting right there together, so naturally, I grab the Nature's Promise because it's closest and I'm tired.

Fast forward to checkout, and I ask the attendant about the coupon because I'm too exhausted to mess with my app. He tells me the deal is only for Poland Spring and Pure Life. I'm standing there like, "Nah, you're wrong. I literally just saw the sign with both waters." We go back and forth, and of course, because I'm always right in my mind (don't judge me, you do it too), I'm ready to prove this man wrong.

Then a manager comes over and offers to walk back to the display with me to check. In my head, I'm thinking, "Oh, this is about to be good. I'm about to show them what's what." We walk all the way back, and wouldn't you know it, the sign clearly says Poland Spring and Pure Life. Not Nature's Promise.

Cue the humbling moment where I had to apologize and admit I was wrong. The manager was so gracious about it and offered to grab me three cases of Poland Spring and bring them to the front. But here's where it gets interesting, I calculated the difference between what I was paying and what the sale price would be, and it was only eleven cents different. Eleven cents! So I told him not to worry about it, that I wasn't going to make him do all that work for such a small difference.

This sweet man insisted that his job was to make me happy as a customer. He offered again to get the water, and when I still declined, he said he'd at least give me the price difference. The total? A whopping $1.11 for three cases.

But as I walked to my car feeling all kinds of frustrated about the whole ordeal, God stopped me in my tracks. He said, "I wish you would allow me to take care of you. Allow me to love you well."

Ya'll, I had to sit in that parking lot for a minute.

He went on to show me that even in that simple moment, He was trying to care for me through that manager's kindness. This man was willing to go completely out of his way to make sure I was satisfied, and I kept pushing it away. I realized I do this all the time, I'm so used to being the one who overextends, who goes above and beyond for everyone else, that when someone tries to do the same for me, I literally don't know how to receive it.

I shut it down. I minimize it. I convince myself it's not necessary or that I'm being a burden.

If you're reading this and nodding your head, I see you. Maybe you grew up like I did, always feeling like you had to earn love and care. Maybe you learned early that asking for help meant you were weak or that people would eventually get tired of you. Maybe you became the helper, the giver, the one who always shows up for others because it felt safer than needing someone to show up for you.

But here's what I'm learning, when we refuse to let others care for us, we're not just robbing ourselves of love, we're robbing them of the blessing that comes from giving. We're essentially telling God that His love through other people isn't enough, isn't needed, isn't welcome.

Years ago, my cousin Monique spoke a word into my life that I'll never forget. The Lord had shown her how black and blue my heart was, just from years of being hurt by people, of pouring out and getting little in return. But God didn't want to just patch up my wounded heart. He wanted to give me a brand new one. Completely fresh. Completely whole.

I've carried that word with me ever since, and every time I experience something like this grocery store moment, I'm reminded of this new heart God has given me. But here's the thing that's both beautiful and terrifying, in order for this new heart not to get black and blue again, I have to learn to receive love from others.

Ya'll, it is so hard. It is so, so hard for me to realize and recognize that I need love too. That we as humans cannot go through this life without being loved, without feeling love, without experiencing love. It goes against every protective instinct I've built up over the years.

You are not too much. You are not a burden. You don't have to earn every ounce of love and care that comes your way. The same grace you extend to others? You deserve to receive it too.

Scripture tells us in Ecclesiastes 4:12 that "a cord of three strands is not quickly broken." We weren't meant to carry everything alone. When someone offers to help you, to serve you, to go out of their way for you, even over eleven cents, consider that it might be God trying to love you through them.

In Matthew 7:11, Jesus says, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

God wants to give you good things, beloved. He wants to care for you through the kindness of others, through unexpected blessings, through people who insist on loving you well even when you try to wave them off.

Here's what I'm working on... When someone offers help, I am pausing before automatically declining and asking myself, "Am I saying no because I genuinely don't need this, or am I saying no because I don't think I deserve it?" I am learning to practice saying "thank you" instead of "you don't have to do that."

Let people love you the way they know how to love you. Remember, receiving gracefully is actually a gift to the giver. You're allowing them to experience the joy that comes from serving others, the same joy you feel when you help someone else.

God taught me a profound lesson through a grocery store water display, of all things. He reminded me that His love often comes through human hands, and when I refuse those hands, I'm refusing Him.

So the next time someone wants to walk to the back of the store for you, carry your groceries, bring you a meal, or simply give you that extra dollar eleven, let them. Not because you need the money or the help necessarily, but because you need the love. And honey, you are so worthy of being loved well.

The same God who notices when a sparrow falls notices when you're tired in a grocery store aisle.

He sees you carrying everyone else's burdens, and He wants to carry yours too. Let Him. Through the kindness of strangers, through the generosity of friends, through managers who care about customer service, and through all the unexpected ways love shows up in our everyday lives.

You don't have to do life alone. And you definitely don't have to carry all those water cases by yourself.

What about you? When was the last time you let someone truly take care of you? I'd love to hear your stories in the comments below.