Integrity comprises the personal inner sense of "wholeness" deriving from honesty and consistent uprightness of character.You know that there are always those stories that others tell you that just never seem to leave your mind. When I was younger I heard a preacher tell the story of his trip to the grocery store with his son. As they finished putting the groceries into their vehicle he and his son began to go put the cart away. His son asked him why they didn't just leave the cart between the spaces like everyone else had done. The father just simply said because we will be the kind of people that put our carts away. Because it has been a lot of years since I heard that one, I may have confused the details and I HATE that I don't remember who and where that came from, but I ALWAYS PUT MY CART AWAY. The more important thing is that eveytime I do, I think about what it really means to have integrity. Here is my definition: Integrity is what you do when there is no audience. Even if it is just putting you cart away. The next time you are in a parking lot with a grocery basket ask yourself, what "kind of people" do I want to be?
11 comments:
I am so proud to e-know you. We, Ned and I, always put our carts away too. And if there are abandoned carts around us when we park, we take them in with us. Integrity is a big thing with us---it is an absolute--one can't sort of have integrity, its like being kinda pregnant. Good post
Neva
Hey! You probably know I've come over from Trey's blog. He told me you were the reason he started, & he just recommended one of your posts to me. I was going to look for it, but wanted to stop here first. My mom ALWAYS made it a point to put carts away. Sometimes if we passed others that were left out, we'd even put those away. I still do it, & let my kids know basically the same thing as your past minister ... that we do it because of who we are. Great post!
You didn't hear the grocery cart story from me. I never put mine up.
just teasing. I've always put mine up. Maybe it's an ethics thing. Maybe good people put theirs up and bad people leave theirs out. Or maybe that's how God will divide the sheep from the goats. You know Matthew 25, "I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I needed a shopping cart and you'd put your up."
Okay, I'll stop. You probably wish I'd stop posting comments on your blog. I can't Monica, I'm addicted. I need to go to AA or BA (Bloggers Anon).
Monica ... where's your post on Single Moms? That's what we're looking for!
Thanks Trey and Lisa,
Trey I may add that to my bible that's how much I believe in putting away my cart.
Here is the post that you are looking for: It is titled Special Women
http://mommysmart.blogspot.com/2007/01/trey-had-really-great-post-about-his.html
Mon ... I love your blog. Thanks for letting me hang around!
Trey,
Thanks for hanging out. No one wants to blog alone...besides you are a great host, too. You may need to start a blog club. You have a great group of regular readers. Maybe we should all take a topic once a month and blog in our own style and refer to each other?!? Hmm...
Mon ... interesting thought ... I like it
OK, I'll represent the non-cart-putter-uppers that do still have integrity. I must say, after having juggled three kids in WalMart for hours, I just don't have it in me. I am just glad I made it to the car with everyone, my purchases and that my behaivor was consistant with what I would be proud of if anyone were watching. How about you putter-uppers helping us out sometime?
I will say that one day at Target, a cart followed me all the way to my car. It was not mine and I think the Lubbock wind caught it. I moved it several times but it seemed to have something for me. I even put it in the cart rack and it left to come hit my car as I was backing out. I gave up and laughed histerically as it followed me to the parking lot exit. My little ones had no idea why I was laughing but they had to giggle too. I decided I had better give it one more try before it entered the busy street. I had never noticed that the parking lot was so down hill before.
My husband is at a funeral today, I too will take time to celebrate life. And I'll work on putting my cart up.
Kathy
Hi.....My name is Stacy.....I don't put the cart up, and I'll tell you why. I appreciate it when I park by a cart just waiting for me to put my wiggly little 1 year old in and toodle to the door. I figure I'm doing another mom a favor by leaving it where I found it. It's all about perspective, right?
As a disabled person, I thank you for putting your cart away. It's hard enough getting around or finding a parking space without having to move carts before I park. Thank you!
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