One More Pharmacy Note

Pharmacy Notes

Ahhh, I was feeling the love Wednesday night - my final time in the pharmacy.
*My co-workers had encouraging words for me as they thanked me for the time we shared together, and wished me well with my new job.
*Someone bought cake (And we aren't supposed to have food in the pharmacy, but my boss allowed it. *grin*) and it was delicious!
*I had several exceptionally nice interactions with customers.
*And two people who came to the counter - whose birthdays I needed to verify - were born on November 11. Twice I had 11/11 staring me in the face. I'm grinning now, even in the memory of it. God's way of reminding me He's in the moment and I can trust Him to lead me.

As I reflect back on my short time in the pharmacy I am so thankful for the ways God has made His presence known, for the lessons He has taught me, and the trials through which He has brought me. I remember the tears I shed at the beginning, the extent to which I felt like a failure who had nothing to contribute to the team, and the doubts I had that I would ever make a difference.
But God has been faithful and I have grown.
And I think that's the greatest Note I'm taking from the Pharmacy: Wherever I am and whatever I am doing - no matter how inadequate and small I feel - God is with me and I can trust Him!

***Even though this is the last 'official' Pharmacy Note, Monday's video is going to be based on a lesson God taught me in the pharmacy. See you then!

Pharmacy Notes

I have discovered a new medicine at the pharmacy this week!

Well, it isn't actually 'new'. In fact, it's been around for a long time. But this week I've been giving it out more frequently and have been impressed by the immediate results it provides.

"It" is attention and a kind word.

When I have encountered less-than-pleasant customers at the pharmacy, I have always tried to be cordial - with the hopes they will lighten up a bit, too. But this past week I decided to go further. Rather than reacting to my situations, I tried to shape them.
I noticed the beautiful earrings one woman was wearing, and I told her how much I liked them.
I complimented another woman on her pretty shirt.
A 96-year-old woman walked up to the counter and I told her how wonderful she looked.
Spent some time talking with a 9-year-old boy while his mom's prescription was getting finished, and encouraged him to help his mom through her illness.
And I noticed a similar response from each of these individuals.
*Smiles on their faces.
*Brightness in their eyes.
*A lift in their voices.
*Even an appearance of standing a little taller.

It was so easy! I paid attention to these people. Looked at them, saw remarkable things, and said so. And they responded immediately.
Working in the pharmacy, I have become increasingly aware of our tendency to point out that which is unsatisfactory - our propensity to complain. (As if mothering didn't show me enough of that behavior!) But it has also given me the opportunity to 'experiment' on several individuals each day, to confirm how effective attention and a kind word can be at lifting a person's spirits.
You don't need a prescription for this medicine, and there are no over dose warnings. Take it with or without food. It will not make you drowsy or dizzy. Apply it liberally whenever you have the opportunity!

Pharmacy Notes

Two refills until 8/6/10.

Do you know what it means when a person is running out of refills on their prescription?
It's time for them to re-visit their doctor - to find out if they still need the medicine. There needs to be an evaluation. The doctor and patient need to determine if the medicine is still serving its intended purpose. They need to discuss if the current plan is the best thing, or if there is a better alternative.
In short, when the refills are running out, it may be time for a change.

Well, friends, there are only two refills left of Pharmacy Notes, because a change is coming my way.

At the beginning of the year a friend of mine (Pat) was telling me about her job. I remember thinking it sounded like something I would love to do. But I wasn't looking for a job, and the job wasn't available. So I just let the thought go.

Fast forward to two weeks ago.

I was at another friend's house and she mentioned that Pat had recently quit her job. She looked at me and said, "Karen. You would be perfect for that job!" And that thought from the beginning of the year rushed back.
I would love that job!
So I called Pat.
And she called her former boss (Laura).
Then she called me back and told me to call for an interview.
Which I did.
And the next day I went in for an informal interview.
The following day, Laura left for vacation - and I spent the next 10 days thinking about the job and asking God to lead us in the direction we should go.
This past Tuesday I went back for another interview, and yesterday Laura called and offered me the job.

Sooooo, yours truly is the new Activities Director for Edgewood Retirement Center in Lansing, MI.
And I am so excited!
I wasn't looking for a new job. I didn't go out seeking it. Rather, it kind of found me.
In so many, many ways, I can see God's hand in this change. (HE is the Great Physician, after all. He knows when my prescription needs changing. *wink*) And I am eager to be used by Him to bring hope and joy into the lives of the men and women who call Edgewood their home.

A new job.
A new ministry assignment.
The same God will go with me, and I will continue to trust Him with every step I take.

Have a great weekend, and I'll see you back here Monday!

Pharmacy Notes

*BIG sigh*

We made it!

Yesterday we 'went live' with a new computer system in the pharmacy. There has been a lot of anticipation for this move, and I was nervous as I approached the doors. Usually I am praying that God would use me to be a blessing, that He would help me see things, that I would be His instrument. Yesterday I was praying I would simply survive the day!
Honestly, the transition wasn't as bad as I had expected.
Several 'trainers' were available (And I think they'll be around for a week, or so. *whew!*) to answer questions and show us how to navigate the new system.
But at one moment - when I was in a particularly stressful situation - God reminded me that the One I really need was with me. And I remembered that He'll stay with me for all of eternity - not just a week, or so.
What happened?
Well, we were attempting to figure out what happened to a prescription, trying a couple different approaches on the computer, unable to ignore the long line of customers waiting for assistance - when I got to the point in the transaction where I needed to verify the person's birth date. I saw the date on the screen and smiled hugely as she chimed, "Eleven eleven."

I love it when God encourages me like that. Love that HE works in the pharmacy, too.

Pharmacy Notes

Working in the pharmacy has afforded me the opportunity to learn a lot about human interaction. About how to treat people kindly even when they aren't being kind. How to encourage a person by simply smiling and using their first name.

But that isn't all.

Here's some advice I'm sure everyone can use at some time in their lives:

*If you're going away on vacation, or
*If you're leaving the country for two months
DON'T wait to go to the pharmacy - where you expect to pick up your extra supply of prescriptions (for which you need to make PRIOR arrangements with your insurance company) - until the night before you're leaving.
It might not be ready.

I'm just sayin'.

*wink*

Pharmacy Notes

OK, so I have come up with a new game I'm going to play while I'm at work on my ministry assignment.
It's called, I'm Going To Be So Nice To You That When You Reflect On This Interaction, You Will Be Ashamed of the Way You Treated Me. And it's inspired by an interaction I had with a customer last weekend.
Oh, this man was mad.
And rude.
And irrational.
But, thank God, HE calmed my racing heart, kept my tears at bay, and helped me get through the situation. And God reminded me - this problem at the pharmacy was likely not the first thing to go wrong with this man's day. It was probably one circumstance in a long list of things which was upsetting him, and I just happened to be the *lucky one* to take the brunt of his frustration.
So, in preparation for the next time it happens, I'm turning it into a game. Cuz if I'm playing a game, maybe I won't feel like crying.
*wink*

Pharmacy Notes

Monday could have been remembered as a really bad night at work. *Our communication with insurances went down so everything was taking longer. And most customers weren't happy about that problem. *There was the man whose daughter's doctor (apparently) called prescriptions into two different pharmacies, whose wife tried to (angrily) solve the problem with one of the pharmacies, which resulted in him driving all around town looking for said prescriptions, while his little girl sat at home with a fever - waiting for her medicine. (His rendition of this story was not as calm or kind as mine. LOL!) *Let's not forget the pregnant woman who let me know how angry she was because we were out of the pre-natal vitamin she needed. I didn't bother to ask why she waited until she was out of vitamins to come get her prescription refilled. (Oh! Did I really just say that out loud? *grin* I mean, I understand 'pregnancy brain' but when did that involve being unkind to me???) *And, there's also the point that we were too busy for me to take my break. Not necessarily a big deal, but in the midst of it all - 15 minutes to sit down and have a snack would have been nice. However, as the closing hour was getting near and a customer's amount due came to $11.11, I smiled and thanked God for carrying me through the difficult evening. But it wasn't until after 9:00 when I was closing the window that I understood God wasn't just saying, I carried you. He was also saying, I Am not finished yet. Just as I was about to get the window closed (It had given me some trouble closing. Guess Who was behind that???) a woman came around the corner, asking if we were still open. I apologized and said we were closed. And my co-worker gave her two options for 24-hour pharmacies, which - unfortunately - weren't very near to us. This woman looked quite frazzled and the pharmacist told me to ask what she needed. I asked, and the pharmacist said she would get it ready for her. When I came back to the counter, I saw tears in the woman's eyes and I went to get her a tissue. Upon returning, I asked if she was OK and that's when she let out her stress and the fears which had been piling up the past two days. She told me about her son's accident and hospitalization, about her responsibility to watch over him now that he's home, and her fear that she wasn't going to notice if something goes wrong. As I listened to her, I was so glad the pharmacy was 'closed'. There was no one else there who needed my attention - no customers waiting in line - no one. I was able to give this dear mother my full attention, and I was so thankful. She thanked me for my kindness, and I told her that everything about me comes from my faith in God. And I asked if I could pray for her. That's when she told me her faith is also in God. So we approached Him together - there in the pharmacy. We said, "Amen," I gave Karen her son's prescription, and promised to continue praying for them. And I am. I will likely never see Karen again, here on earth. But I know God has His eyes on her and I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a brief part of her life. God is good!

Pharmacy Notes

Sometimes things happen in our lives and we wonder, God, was that You?
And other times He is so blatantly obvious we cannot deny His hand at work, and we simply have to give Him thanks and praise.

Such was the case at the pharmacy this week.

A little background...
I think I might go blind working at the pharmacy. Looking at all those little letters and numbers when I am locating and confirming prescriptions sometimes makes my eyes go nuts. And more than once I have looked (and looked again!) for a prescription and been unable to see it. Only to have a co-worker walk over and pull it off the shelf for me. Right where I had been looking.
I hate when that happens!

So, back to God being blatantly obvious.
Tuesday as I was going into work I was praying. I specifically asked God to help me see things clearly. I didn't want to have trouble finding prescriptions and need to ask my co-workers for help. I wanted help from God.
Well, rather than waiting on customers, my manager wanted me to work on some computer-based-training for a while. So I moved into the back office and got started on the computer. And before too long, God made Himself known to me.
I heard a customer asking if we had any surgical lube behind the counter. My co-worker thought the customer was asking for surgical tube and said she didn't think we carried it. But the customer was certain she had purchased surgical lube before - in a tube.
At this point I stepped out of the room I was in. (Don't ask me why. I had no idea if we had surgical lube. I had not seen it before. But I thought I could at least clarify that the customer was asking for surgical lubrication.)
So my co-worker and I walked over to the shelf where we keep all the special behind-the-counter products. I looked up at the top, right corner and saw it. A box full of tubes of surgical lubricant. I said, "There it is."
Then I remembered what I had prayed on my way into work, I got a HUGE smile on my face because I knew God had just done this for me, and I thanked Him for His faithfulness in every.little.thing.

Don't know what you're looking for today, but I know Who can help you!

Pharmacy Notes

So Tuesday afternoon I was walking into work, praying and asking God to make me sensitive to His Spirit - asking Him to help me honor Him in the pharmacy. I worked every night this week and, honestly, I didn't have the best attitude about it. I would rather have been home so I could eat dinner with my family. I would rather have been home so I could walk Matthew home from school. But I am trusting that God has a plan with this whole thing we're going through, and I knew I needed to be in communion with Him - that He might change my heart.

So I prayed.

And with one of my very first customers, God reminded me He's in this circumstance and I can trust Him with the results.
It wasn't anything this particular customer said to me. There was nothing extraordinary about our interaction.
God spoke through the change.
That is, the customer's items totaled $28.89 and he paid me with $40.
Do the math.
When I put his money in the drawer and looked up at the screen, this is what I saw:

Amount paid: $40.00
Amount owed: 28.89
Change due: $11.11

I got a huge smile on my face as I counted out eleven dollars and eleven cents to give to my customer. And as I handed it to him, it was almost as if I could hear God saying to me, Trust Me, Karen. I will make the necessary change in you.

Love, love, love it when He does stuff like that!

Pharmacy Notes

"Followers of Jesus don't have jobs. They have ministry assignments."

Marvin Williams
Senior Teaching Pastor
Trinity Church, Lansing, MI

The previous quote comes from the following video. This is the sermon I heard last Sunday, right before I went to my job. Er, my ministry assignment. God spoke to my heart regarding the time I spend in the pharmacy, and I invite you to stick around here a while and watch it.

Work in HD - Marvin Williams from TrinityWired Productions on Vimeo.

Pharmacy notes

I love that God is not limited in the ways and places He can speak to us.

Love it!

Because this week as I was waiting on several pharmacy customers, God was speaking to my heart.
You see, at the Meijer pharmacy we have a free antibiotic program, wherein - as the name would indicate - several of our antibiotics are free to the customer. The thing is, not everyone who is getting one of these antibiotics realizes they're free. So when the individual opens his/her wallet and I say, "There's no charge today," that person often responds with a shocked look and says, "What???"
At which point, I smile at them and tease, "Don't ask questions. Just accept it."
Then we usually laugh a bit, and they go on their merry way.

But one day, as I went through this scene for about the sixth or seventh time, God made me see things differently.
From His perspective, I think.
And I wondered, How many times has God meant to give me a gift, just because He's good and that's the kind of thing He does, and I have felt the need to 'pay' Him for it? How many times have I objected to His grace, because I didn't think I deserved it? How many times has God wanted to say to me, Don't ask questions, Karen. Just accept it.?

Are you understanding what I'm saying?

All He wants us to do is say, Thanks! and accept His gift.
No questions.
Just thanksgiving!

Have a wonderful weekend!
I have a video ready for Monday. If you aren't too busy with picnics and such, I hope you'll stop by for a visit.

Pharmacy Notes

So, sometimes I do the encouraging.
Other times, it's the pharmacy customers who cheer me.
And today I want to share with you some of the ways I have been encouraged, with hopes that the next time you go to a pharmacy counter (or any other kind of counter!) you'll give one of these suggestions a try.

*I love it when a customer takes the time to read my name tag and uses my name.

*In the midst of waiting on frazzled and sometimes ornery customers, it is an absolute delight to have a customer approach the counter with a great big smile on his/her face.

*Once when we were waaaaaay backed up, and people were waiting in line, and several of them were irritated, and all of us behind the counter were bustin' our, uh, rear ends, I waited on an unusually kind customer. I thanked her for her patience and she smiled at me and said, "I figure complaining isn't going to make the line move any faster."
Oh, what a gift that comment was - spoken at just the right time.

Initially, I thought being behind the counter was simply going to open doors for me to encourage people in ways I would not otherwise be able to do. But now I realize, being behind the counter is also showing me how much I can lift up people when I am a customer - on the other side.

Let's go and do likewise!

Pharmacy Notes

OK. This interaction was just too fun for me not to share it with you.

As I'm sure you understand, it's vitally important that we give the correct prescription to customers at the pharmacy. One of the ways we confirm the correct identity is by asking for a verification of the birth date of the person for whom the prescription has been written.
Well, last Friday a young man came to the pharmacy to pick something up for a female. (So I obviously knew it wasn't for him.) When I asked him to provide the birth date for the prescription's recipient, he fumbled. He got the month, wasn't sure about the day, and really had no idea about the year.
We made confirmation via other means, but then I asked this young man what his relationship was to the Rx recipient. He stammered, "Uh, she's my mom."

I couldn't resist...

I (gently) pounded my hand on the counter and said, "You don't know your mother's birthday???"
He smiled, sheepishly.
I continued, "Do you know what day it is Sunday?"
He said, "Mother's Day."
"Yes. It is. Have you gotten her a card yet?"
He just looked at me and smiled.
"Because I don't know if I can give you this prescription if you aren't going to also get your mother a card." I leaned forward and pointed toward the card section. "They're right over there. Promise me you're going to go straight over there and buy her a card when you're finished here."
"Yes."
"Good. Here you go."
We finished the transaction, and I trust that young man went over to pick up a Mother's Day card.

As the next customer approached the counter (A woman, in her 50's, I'm guessing.) she was chuckling. I just smiled at her and said, "I imagine someone will need to help my sons like that some day."

We moms need to stick together!

Pharmacy Notes

I want to thank each of you for your kindness and words of encouragement last Friday, as I let go of the tension from my first week of work. You're a blessing to me!

I'm not sure this is going to be a weekly feature on my blog, but - at least for today - I want to share with you one of the ways God blessed me this week by using me to encourage a customer at the pharmacy.

What started out as a typical transaction, turned into a pleasant conversation with a fellow mom. Customer A asked me to check the bottle in the bag, to be sure she was receiving the correct medication.
So I read the label and commented, "Oh. I have a son who takes Vyvanse, too." (That's what Matthew takes to help control his ADHD impulses.)
At that point, I wasn't going to say anything more about it. I had given the invitation and was leaving it up to Customer A to continue the conversation if she so desired.
She desired!
Because there were no customers waiting behind her in line (Guess WHO saw to that little detail?!) we were able to talk for three or four minutes about having sons with ADHD. We shared our initial concerns with trying medication, our desires to do what is best for our children, and our struggle to know what's 'best'.
As our conversation came to a close, this woman looked at me and said, "It is so good to talk to another mom who knows what I'm going through."
The feeling was mutual.

My hope is that dose of encouragement will last her for another month, and that I'll be working when she comes in for the next refill!