Revalation In The Commissary

Today wasn't the first day I have had a revelation in the commissary. Usually they are not positive. They are things like, "this is why I don't take my toddler grocery shopping" or "life would be a lot cheaper if we didn't have to eat".
Things were a bit different today. Today my revelation had to do with the power of words and thoughts.
As I entered the commissary today I was braced for battle. They had been closed for the past few days to do a "reset". I knew that it was going to take longer and that nothing was going to be in the "proper" place. I had my list prepared and my game face on.
The produce section hadn't changed much, so I cheerily got my vegetables. "Maybe, they won't have changed things too much", I told myself. As I entered the aisles I knew I had that thought very prematurly. I went down the first aisle and my stress level starting rising. Nothing was were it normally was. I very carefully make out my grocery list according to what is in each aisle, so there isn't alot of thought needed. Suddenly my list wasn't so helpful.
I looked around and saw the same look of confusion and helplessness on the other customers faces, and I realized that I wasn't alone. So in the middle of the baking aisle I simply spoke outloud and said, "where are the cupcake wrappers?". To my delight another lady spoke up and told me where they were. A couple other people chimed in asking where things were that they needed. We all helped each other out, and another mom and I started chatting and ended up exchanging phone numbers.
After that I stopped and started looking around. The new layout is more organized and I started thinking about how much work they had to do to set this up. I remember my resets in my retail days and the stores I did weren't nearly as big as the commissary! A spirit of thankfulness came over me.
I chatted with the cashier as she checked me out, and with the bagger that bagged my groceries, making sure to thank them for their work. I left the commissary in a good mood, which seldom happens!
On my drive home I heard a quote on the radio. "You are a master of every word that you don't speak, and a slave to the ones you do." I have been trying to work on my thought life as well as the words that come out of my mouth. I tend to get stressed out and then react quickly and very emotionally. This morning proved to me that I need to stop and re-evaluate the situations that I find myself in, from parenting a very headstrong little girl to making sure I am speaking grace to every person I come in contact with (Col 4:6).

Here is the new layout of the Ft. Meade Commissary, just in case you want to get organized before you go!