I worked for a large hardware conglomerate when it was opening a new branch in our town. As employees we had worked for weeks stocking the shelves, learning the cash registers and getting ready for the Grand Opening.
The day to serve customers finally arrived. The parking lot was full, and people were gathering around the entry eager to buy the large items on sale or simply to buy the tools that the local stores had not carried. The crowd looked overwhelming to some of us. Our store manager called all 200 employees to the front of the store and spoke to us calmly and kindly. I always remembered what he said to us cashiers.
“You can only serve one customer at a time.”
It did not matter that the lines were from the front of the store to the back of the store, we still had only one customer, the one in front of us. I was able to remain confident all day and actually enjoyed the excitement without being tangled up with anxiety. Likewise focusing on having a meek and quiet spirit allows us to remain calm in the midst of chaos (1 Peter 3:3-4)
