I’d needed to go to the grocery store, badly, for several days, so I finally went yesterday.

(Have I told you how much I hate going grocery shopping?)

I made out my list, steeled my resolve, and headed into town. I was pleased with my cart choice, once I got there, realizing that it was completely silent and all the wheels were straight and solid; not a wobble or shake to be seen. I pushed off into my usual routine, heading first to the produce section. I filled a good portion of that cart with fruits and veggies, and, feeling very satisfied by my healthy choices, I headed around to the first aisle to get the next thing on the list: Coke.

(Yes, I realize that Coke is contradictory to the healthy choices I’d just made. It’s mainly Kevin who drinks these, but I do have one from time to time. Don’t hate.)

I grabbed the carton of canned Coke (regular, decaffeinated – hey, that’s healthier, right?), and put it on the shelf underneath the buggy. Then I proceeded to make my way through the entire rest of the store, to finish the rest of my shopping.

A nice kid helped me out with my groceries, and just as he lifted the Coke from the bottom of the buggy, a very thin and steady stream of Coke was pouring from one corner. Apparently, a can had been compromised somehow. He took it back in for a new one, and then put it on my backseat since the trunk was full. As I was about to back out, I noticed it was Diet Coke.

(Diet? Really? Don’t you know that all those artificial sweeteners can KILL you???)

I threw the car back into park, and went back in the store with the offending beverage. That’s when I saw them: a succession of “wet floor” signs all through the store, and two employees, in two different places, mopping up brown liquid as fast as they could. I had apparently been leaving a trail of Coke behind me everywhere I’d gone and never noticed it. What’s odd is that no one else noticed it either, or slipped in it, or fell completely down.

I thought, all the way home, about the trails we leave behind. The choices we make, the ways by which we live our lives. They either will be treacherous in nature, causing ourselves and others to slip and fall, or they will be beneficial, like breadcrumbs, leaving others wanting more, and nourishing them (and ourselves) in the process. I certainly hope for a trail like the latter, because if we all leave that kind of trail, we’ll follow each other straight into the arms of the Bread of Life.

It certainly seems the healthier choice, don’t you think?

(Incidentally, my new carton of Cokes made it home just fine, but now, after writing this post, they don’t sound nearly as appealing.)

“…I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.” 1 Corinthians 10:33 NLT

“So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.” Romans 14:13 NLT

“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35 NIV