Oh The Glamor Of It All!

I know the principal behind Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men” and I even have the verse memorized.  What I don’t always get is how does this look in real, everyday mom life?  Like when the two-year-old is throwing up on me after missing the bucket—for the 4th time today?!

It was probably one of my more pathetic mommy days up to that point, and although I’ve had a few doozies since, it still stands strong in my memory...especially considering the kids are now all pre-teens/teens!  It was Day One of my diet and it was my first ever attempt at dieting.  I had (finally) decided to take off the baby weight now that the baby was almost two years old.  OK—actually, it was to take off the pre-baby twenty pounds plus the twenty pounds of baby weight.  There’s a general understanding and even sympathy for the “freshman fifteen” but why not the “newlywed nineteen”?!

When the day started with the 20-month-old throwing up, it was rather easy to be on a diet.  Who wants to eat—who has time to eat—when you’re on bucket patrol?  However, within a few hours some super pathetic, poor-me thinking took place, and I started to get really jealous of my husband.  “No one is throwing up on him. He can actually close the door when he goes to the bathroom. Heck, he has time to go to the bathroom. I bet he’s sitting on an actual chair not kneeling on the floor with a bucket under someone.”  Once I remembered that I didn’t have to wear nylons OR shoes to do my job, (or even leave the house for that matter), I got over my mental hissy fit and settled in for the glamorous part of mommy-hood.

After an Arthur-bucket-change-The-Big-Comfy-Couch-bucket-change-bucket-change-Veggie-Tales-video-bucket-change morning (you get the idea), I decided that I really needed to eat, as did my four-year-old son.  (Who I was afraid to feed, figuring he would eventually get sick too.)  Once the hoarky kid fell asleep on the towel and sheet draped sofa, I made (and really enjoyed) my healthy lunch…stir-fry veggies with leftover strip steak.  And although I was tempted, I didn’t finger wipe/lick the big glob of peanut butter that was “leftover” on the knife after making my son’s peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  One time, I figured that approximately one-fourth of each peanut butter jar was probably eaten by my effort to clean the generous glob of peanut butter that I had conveniently “leftover" on the knife.

By mid-afternoon, the little guy was starting to hold his own and perk up a bit and he actually asked for his sippie cup.  After allowing him half a sip while over the bucket, I relaxed a bit, eventually allowing two sips in a row.  By late afternoon, I stopped fearing every move he made, and I even ran to the basement to switch the laundry.  (A daring, but necessary feat during this time.)  The calm got sucked right out of me as soon as I came back upstairs from the laundry room and saw the four year old waiting for me.  He uttered the words, “Mom, I think I’m…..”  I yelled for him to run into the bathroom and aim for the toilet, and I followed him.  Except that I didn’t get very far.  And, I wasn’t on my feet.

You know how little boys have LOTS of play cars?  And you know how the house goes to pot when the kids are sick?  I either stepped on or tripped on (or both) a pile of cars, and I went down in a heap.  A big heap.  Of course the thought “Less of me would have gone down had I started this stupid diet sooner” entered my head before pain in my ankle took over all thinking.  My right ankle.  My driving ankle.  My driving-to-see-other-people-who-speak-like-adults-and-don’t-wet-the-bed ankle!!  I half laid, half sat there and started to cry as I watched my son throwing up in the bathroom, IN the toilet, thank goodness.  The 20-month-old remained glued to the TV, unaware of anything else happening except what was on the screen.  He had just seen more TV that day than in his entire life previously.  (Note to self: will need to establish strong restrictions on TV viewing for this child.)  The glamorous, fun part of motherhood was nearly overwhelming as I considered my options.  Call the nanny on her day off?  Climb into bed and pretend none of this was happening?

I called my mom.  I was crying.  I was worse than the kids--combined--on a bad day.  My mom should have been a crisis counselor.  Mom had an immediate plan, and my only job was to call my husband and kindly ask him to come home.  Mom was on her way over, too.  I had enough sense to gather myself together and get a grip as I waited for the reinforcements to arrive.  Somehow, I got my rapidly swelling ankle elevated and then proceeded to lavish praise on the four-year-old for making it into the bathroom.  He now had full control of the throw up bucket and joined his glassy-eyed younger brother, who I knew was sitting far too close to the TV screen.  I kinda figured (hoped?) it wouldn’t be doing permanent eyeball damage, no matter what my grandma had said.  My husband came home and looked so calm and collected and he smelled good—very non-throw-upy.  Mom arrived about the same time, looking and smelling as good as my husband.  It was then that I decided to change into a clean shirt and brush my hair before mom drove me to the emergency room.

We arrived at the ER, I eventually got settled in and was given painkillers.  The ankle x-ray was next, and I’ve yet to understand the gymnastics one goes through to make the technician happy with “the picture.”  I’m thinking, “My kids are at home throwing up, it’s the first day of my lousy diet, I changed into better clothes to go to the emergency room for crying out loud and you want me to bend my injured ankle HOW?”

Eventually, the very kind and patient ER doctor came back to my curtained enclosure and gave me the happy news that my ankle was not broken, just badly bruised and sprained.  His next less comforting words were about needing crutches and about sprains hurting as much as breaks and about sprains possibly taking as long to heal as breaks and about taking it easy and staying off my feet, blah, blah, blah.  (Seriously, why do doctors tell moms to “take it easy” or “stay off your feet” or “be sure to get extra rest”?!  Except for imminent danger or death, moms don’t stay off their feet or just take it easy!!)

The nurse who was in my curtained area was watching me, and she saw my face blanche.  She laid the bed all the way back, and both she and the doctor asked if the pain was making me nauseous.  I shook my head NO, then leaned over the side of the bed (praying for a garbage can) and threw up….partly hitting my new, clean shirt.  Lovely.  I had to reassure them that getting sick wasn’t due to pain, but I was, in fact, the third vomit victim in my family since earlier in the day.  The doctor discharged me with crutches after my mom assured him that someone would be there to make sure I truly did rest and elevate my foot…with a bucket in my lap.

I had a few thoughts on that pathetically fateful first day of my diet.  “Working with all your heart as for the Lord” means just that—my work for His glory.  My work looks very different than my husband’s work and probably very different from your work.

God doesn’t categorize and assign importance to “work.”  He just says “do it” and “do it for Me!“  

While in a mental pity-party, I can think I have a thankless, tiring job.  The reality is that some days, I do!  And, some days, I don’t.  It doesn’t matter…..the command to “do your job for Me” does not change.  Ecclesiastes 7:14 says that good times and bad times are both made by God...He’s not surprised by either.  That day in my life—while I can laugh about it now—was not exactly under my control.  I often ask myself if I am submitting to and trusting in God’s hand of control and plan for me, even on the icky days.  (Which in the grand scheme of things is really, really tame and lame compared to what many women deal with in their lives.)  How’s my attitude toward my current “work” and with what frame of mind am I doing it?

I also had the thought to get an equal number of throw up buckets as kids.  We now have three.  (Throw up bucket/kid combos.)  I also had the thought that getting the stomach flu can jump start a diet by 6.2 pounds, so it really wasn't ALL bad.

I'm Not Gonna Call

Eight weeks ago, I had what was considered major abdominal surgery.  The surgery went well, but recovery has been frustrating because I’m not one to lie low for long.  It has been during this recovery period that I have realized something about the phrase, “Call me if you need anything.”  I don’t call.

This isn’t meant to offend anyone as I have VERY FREQUENTLY said the same phrase to many, many friends….be sure to call if you need anything.  Guess what?  No one has ever called me!  Am I surprised?  (Relieved?)  It makes me feel good to offer help; it’s like I’m doing what a good friend should do.  But really, what am I actually doing?  There may be a handful of people who actually call when they need help, but I am not one of them and it would seem my friends aren’t either.  Honestly, I’m not going to call someone and say, “Remember when you offered to help?  Can you scrub my tub?  De-clutter my counter?  Make the kids practice the piano?  Change the sheets on all the beds?  Get the oil changed on the minivan?”  Post-surgery, there were a number of little things that needed to be done, and it bugged me that I couldn’t do anything about them as I was confined to the sofa and flying high on pain meds.

[Ok, in the name of full disclosure, there have been some emergency situations where I have HAD to call people.  Like the time I took my daughter to the emergency room and needed someone to pick up my son from another location.  Or, two weeks post-surgery when I had a friend drive me to the store so I could buy elastic waist stretchy pants as all the abdominal swelling caught me by surprise.  In a desire to make sure I had pants, I think anyone would have taken me on that errand!]

Because I have a husband and three children who are not toddlers, my thinking was, “I’m not calling someone else when there are four able-bodied people who live here.”  However, there were extra circumstances in the few weeks before my surgery that deeply affected our family.  Our eldest son lost his friend in a tragic drowning accident when all the high school youth group boys were away on a missions trip.  A week after the funeral, my nine-year-old daughter fell and badly broke her arm, requiring surgery to have titanium rods inserted into both forearm bones.  She ended up in a fingertips-to-armpit cast.  Throw in my surgery and a four-day hospitalization and it was a stress filled month, with lots of tears shed.

During this time, the acts of kindness and love showered on our family were overwhelming and humbling!  Our friends and family jumped into action, taking care of our whole family.

It was the many gestures of care that fully opened my eyes to the fact that while offering help is nice, doing something specific is the way to go.

This is by no means a complete list, but here are some ideas of how to reach out to someone in need.  All these acts of love were extended to us, but if I included every single one, you would be reading for a couple hours!  (And, to list all that my mom did to keep our home, our family and home schooling up and running when I was not….it would take a book!)

SHARE RESOURCES: Some friends with extra Cubs tickets gave them to our son so he and my husband could enjoy a night out.  It was a prefect break from all the tear-filled days and nights our son had been going through after burying his friend.  It did not erase what happened, but it was a temporary break.  And who doesn’t need a little break from the day-to-day reality of sadness and loss?  It is the little breaks that keep us going and give us hope that we can smile again.  Knowing that music is my son’s “language” another friend made him a CD of music.  She also wrote a letter explaining why she included each song, and what messages of hope and promise were to be found.

Think of what you can do to minister to a friend in need and go for it!  Have you read an encouraging book with a message that could help a friend?  Buy it for her!  I had one friend who knew of my “swelly belly” woes and the next week, she delivered a pair of her super comfy pj’s for me to borrow.

MEAL PLANNING: A dear friend set up a meal schedule where our dinners were provided, three times a week for the first six weeks of my recovery!  My husband was so appreciative in knowing the responsibility of making dinner was very frequently removed from his plate.  (I was comforted in knowing the kids were eating more than chicken nuggets or hotdogs every night!)  Many people like to provide meals, but to have someone spearhead and organize all the meals is invaluable.  Two easy resources to use are www.mealbaby.com and www.mealtrain.com.

Even if you don’t cook, or don’t have time to cook, you can still help!  We had two friends bless us with restaurant gift cards and two other friends delivered big, ready-to-cook meals from Costco!

FLOWERS: This one seems so obvious, but how many times have you actually brought flowers to a friend who didn’t have a baby?  My mother-in-law had flowers delivered to my daughter by a florist, a HUGE “first” for a little girl.  Family and friends also brought flowers, and she was so proud of them that she insisted on taking pictures of each arrangement.  I also had flowers brought to me a few times and you can’t help but smile and be cheered by a beautiful floral bouquet!

Flowers are easy – every grocery store has a selection.  Go seasonal and get a basket of mums.  Or an evergreen centerpiece.  Or an Easter lily.  Flowers are a guaranteed smile generator!

DO WHAT THEY LOVE: People who know me know that I have a thing for coffee.  An all out love affair might be a more accurate description.  Not once, not twice, but TEN times during recovery, friends stopped by to deliver some form of hot coffee.  Talk about feeling the love!  By general standards, it was a simple gesture, but it meant the world to me.  I knew there was thought and love poured into each cup of coffee!  My daughter received the same thoughtful “deliveries” during her broken arm/surgery.  Friends stopped by with things that make a kid smile: a fruit smoothie, new stuffed animals, silly bands, balloons, games, favorite candy, pens for signing the cast, a gift card to her favorite coffee shop.  She remained in constant awe of the on going out pouring of care.

Whether a $1 or $20 gift, the result was the same – a huge smile and the feeling of being loved.  Think of a friend who needs to feel some care and support…what does he/she love?  Then, do it!  A bakery muffin?  Hot chocolate?  A new release book to read during a time of recovery?  A scented candle?

GET CREATIVE: It’s been firmly established that I have amazing friends and their wonderful creativity should be copied!  Friends brought cooking magazines for me to peruse, hand lotion and lip balm to ward off the dry air in the hospital, a favorite box of tea, a pad of sticky notes to jot down the things I needed to remember for later…the list goes on!  One friend stopped by with a grocery bag full of fruits and veggies, and we were all thrilled to find Honeycrisp apples in the bag!  Another friend went to a used book sale and got some travel books about my dream destination for me to enjoy.  An autumn-themed cookie bouquet was delivered to the house.  (A wonderful alternative to flowers for anyone with hay fever or flower allergies.)

Aren’t these creative and very do-able ideas?  It takes some extra thought, but your friends are worth it!  A decade ago, just days before having another baby, a friend came over to give me a pedicure!  I would NEVER have called and ask that a friend give me a pedicure, but I didn’t refuse it when she and said, “I’m coming over to do this as my gift to you.”  When a great idea pops into your head, either do it right away, or write it down so you don’t forget.

MAKE SPECIFIC OFFERS: If you are unsure how to help a friend in need, suggest some specific ideas to him/her and see where it leads.  Place yourself in their shoes and imagine what would be helpful.  A number of times, I had various friends call and say, “I’m at the grocery store right now.  What can I pick up for you?”  We usually needed something, and they were more than happy to pick up milk, bread, cheese or eggs.  A few times when different friends stopped over for a visit, they would ask if any one of the kids needed to be driven anywhere, as I was still restricted from driving and my husband was not home.  I took them up on the various offers to drive the kids to school for evening choir rehearsal or work or youth group or baseball practice.  I had a couple crazy friends come to visit who insisted on washing some dishes and cleaning the counters while I sat and we chatted.

When you’re out and about running errands, think of how you can double up your efforts to help a friend.  Running to the post office?  Ask if any packages need to be mailed or stamps purchased.  Going to the library?  Offer to return their books.  Will you be at the grocery store?  Ask if they want a movie from the rental kiosk.  When you are taking your garbage cans to the curb and back again, grab your neighbor’s and do the same.  If you look for ways to be helpful, you WILL find them!

(As a side note: If you think it will be an added stress to your friend to appear unannounced at her door with flowers, coffee, a bag of groceries, etc., just say, “I can’t come in, but I just wanted you to know we care.”  Receiving the message of being loved is never stressful!)

Although this seems to be an over-used phrase in this blog, please do not under estimate the power of thoughtful care in the smallest gesture!!!  After the past couple months, I know that I will be offering help to others in very specific ways.  If you have kids, just think of the example you are setting as you strive to teach them to be “other” focused.  Enlist their help and your efforts have just doubled themselves!

It is unrealistic to assume we can do everything for everyone in need.  Sometimes there are time and distance restraints.  (This is when email and snail mail works the best.)  But, do what you can, for who you can, when you are able.  Proactively look for ways to bless others.  Let God use you to be a light of encouragement and a source of generosity to those He has placed in your life.  And, generosity isn’t limited to giving money…it is the giving of YOURSELF, in some way, to love on another.

As Time Goes By

Nope, I have not forgotten about this blog! I've written new things and have jotted many notes for new ideas. But life has thrown us some unexpected curve balls...the kind that can temporarily disable the routine of life, and all effort is put into maintaining ANY semblance of normalcy.

So give me another week or two and I hope to be back in the saddle! I've missed this. But it got ratcheted down a few notches. And to dispel any worry, my family and I are okay and will be okay.

My Model Mom

A few years ago, our local paper ran a “Model Mom” contest, asking people to provide an essay explaining the most important lesson they learned from their mom.  I emailed my submission per the instructions….then never heard back, nor saw the “Model Mom” feature in any upcoming issues.  I was pretty bummed, since there was supposed to be “a prize fit for a model mom!”  Recently, while clearing out some clutter (fit to be moved by a new model bulldozer), I ran across my original submission and decided to share what I wrote about the best lesson I learned from my mom.  (And from looking at my home, it seems the lesson I should have learned is that I don’t need to save every little thing “just in case” since “just in case” rarely, if ever, happens.)

“The most important lesson my mom taught me is the gift of hospitality.  Not entertaining, with lots of preparation and planning and impressive food and decorations…although she DID teach me that too.  The real lesson was in true hospitality, which always cost less in money, but “cost” more in time and thought.

Our family of five lived in a small, neat and tidy 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom, no upstairs, no basement home.  Many will say they have a small house, and I’ve even heard people say they can’t have people over because their house is too small.  Our house was 576 square feet.  Five people.  (Did I mention we were homeschooled?)  We qualify for saying that we truly grew up in a small home.  [Not-in-original-submission side note here: to give you a visual, a standard 2 ½ car garage is about the size of my childhood home…yeah, really small for a house.]  Mom always taught us that hospitality was about the other person and extending friendship, and NOT about the home itself.  She taught it, she believed it and she practiced it.

As a child, I remember it being a regular occurrence that people came over for a meal or coffee and dessert.  Despite our small home, no one ever refused an invitation due to the size of the house or having to squeeze in around the table.  My mom was (and still is) very others oriented and she realized early on that hospitality is something one must purpose to do.  She never waited to have a 5-course meal prepared and freshly ironed linens on the table before asking a family, or a new widow, or a neighbor to come over.  Mom saw a need to reach out to those around her and she did it.  People learned we had an “open door policy” and could always count on a fresh cup of coffee, a listening ear, and possibly fresh-baked muffins.  Having friends into our home went beyond the “obligatory” reasons: holidays, kid’s birthday parties, baby showers, etc.  Having people over was a regular occurrence and it taught me life-lasting principals.

When I got married and had my own home, I purposed to practice hospitality on a regular basis.  [Another side note: it took some practice to convince myself that the house didn’t HAVE to be perfect and the food amazing before opening my door.  In hindsight, I wonder why we have to practice being normal in front of others?!?!]  Now, no matter how busy we get, my kids and husband are never surprised to walk in the door and find people gathered around the table.  It’s rarely a fancy meal – we often order a pizza or throw some hotdogs on the grill.  Sometimes it’s coffee and brownies in the afternoon or chips and salsa.  (Mom also taught me to keep a baked dessert in the freezer or a fast snack in the cabinet to serve on those spur-of-the-moment occasions.)  In my experience, no one has ever turned down an offer of friendship and hospitality just because the floors are in serious need of a sweeping, or because there are 2 (or 3) (ok, fine….probably 4) baskets of clean laundry in the living room, or because I can’t actually see my kitchen counter.  (…or the top of the china cabinet…or the desk…)  It’s not about the house or the food.  It’s about the friendship and the thought behind it.

Mom taught me to worry less about my house and care more about others, and to use my home as a shelter to more than just my family.  And, I understand something she has known for years.  When reaching out to those around me, it usually ends up being me who receives the biggest blessing!  Mom, thanks for teaching me a life-lessons that can’t be taught from a book!”

I think it’s the paper’s loss that they never ran with the idea of printing “Model Mom” submissions because I would have loved to hear other’s stories!

And, I bet my mom is wondering how I never picked up on her “use it or toss it” mantra.  It’s like I’m stuck in the “save it to potentially use it” mode.  *Sigh*  Be warned: you’ll have to move a basket or two the next time you come over.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Game.....

When the kids and I were driving out to the baseball game this afternoon, we were stopped at a light directly behind a huge SUV.  There were 3 really big stickers (bigger than your average bumper sticker) on the SUV's backend, each one advertising something about Jesus.  We all noticed the stickers and the websites they promoted...it was hard NOT to notice.  My eldest son even joked about them "really being into their Jesus ads."

Also at the stoplight were appropriately badged, neon-vest wearing volunteers walking through the lanes of cars, collecting change for a local food pantry.  They also handed out paper information about the food bank.  The volunteer paused at the SUV then moved on after getting nothing from the SUV's driver.

Huh.  That's what we said.  We figured that maybe there was no change in the vehicle.  "It doesn't have to be change.  It can be a whole dollar."  Huh.  Then, we imagined that the driver just lost his job and had no money to give.  "Then how could he put gas in his SUV?  And anyway, you could always give a quarter."  Huh.  It's possible we are all missing something, but we can't figure what it would be.

It was odd to see a bumper stickered-Jesus vehicle not give anything to the food pantry.  My kids thought it was odd.  I'm actually glad they saw and recognized this dichotomy.

I read the information about the food pantry that had been handed to me.  There was a William Penn quote on it that read: If there is any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not deter or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.

Be careful what you advertise.  You're being watched.  Does your advertisement match the real product?

Huh.

Don't Wait For the Funeral

It was one year ago today that I had a “life flashing before my eyes” experience.  In a nutshell: I took some ibuprofen (which I HAD taken before) and had a severe allergic reaction.  The emergency room doctor said I was in anaphylactic shock by the time I got off the ambulance, but gratefully, my airway was never blocked.  (One of the few things that I remember from the ambulance ride was seeing my blood pressure reading of 62/44 and knowing that was far too low, especially for someone being treated for high blood pressure!  The EMT also asked me if I knew what year it was, and after great effort, I answered “yes” but it seems he wanted a different answer.)

This scary experience was the first time I ever truly wondered if I was dying.  Not as in, “Did you see the ending to that movie?!  Ohmigosh, I almost died!” but a real, concrete thought of is this what people feel like before they die?  After the episode was over, I had a difficult time falling asleep for a few days.  Each time I closed my eyes, I would “hear” an ambulance siren and my mind would start to wander to thoughts like what if I really DID die?  I actually thought about how there’d be nothing nice that fit properly to bury me in, so I hoped my husband would opt for cremation.  Then I thought about how my bathtub soooo needed a good scrubbing and wouldn’t I be embarrassed to die and leave it like that?!  (I wish I was kidding or exaggerating; sadly, I’m not.)  I wondered if my husband would remember that I wanted good coffee and a buffet table under a big party tent at my wake and funeral, and NO ORGAN MUSIC!  (I even suggested a jumpy house for the younger kids, as I firmly believe in highlighting the FUN in FUNeral.  Just go with me on this one...)  I thought about how young moms shouldn’t die, and what would my family do?!  I then started thinking about the genuinely sweet words of love and friendship expressed to me after this incident (via written notes, phone calls, emails and Facebook messages) and I was grateful and humbled.  My twisted line of thinking finally led me to believe that we should eulogize while alive.

Almost every wake or funeral I have attended has included multitudes of people remembering the good times, the funny stories, and the highlights of the life of the person who had passed away.  And I always wondered if the deceased person should have heard all this positive stuff before he/she died.  I think the answer is YES!  The fond memories shared after death are only to comfort those left behind…it’s too late for the person who died.  How much good could come from sharing…from eulogizing…before death?!  I think we can all use a good word now and then and how special it would be to hear, “You’re a great friend and here’s why……” or “I love you because…..”  Why not write a note or email or make a call to let a friend or family member know VERY SPECIFICALLY why they are so special to you.  Let your children know what you admire about them and be detailed.  Tell your spouse why you respect him and give an example.  Tell a parent what you have learned from them and how it’s positively affected you as an adult.  Don’t leave things unsaid while there is time NOW!!  It will do a world of good for the heart of the listener!

And now I gotta go scrub the tub so I can sleep well tonight…..

It Was in the Sour Cream

I received an email from a dear friend and she told me about a recent, super-encouraging situation she experienced.  Below is her story.

“I have to tell you something that happened today - and after it happened, I was in my car tearing up at the generosity and thoughtfulness of what was done.

Yesterday, I went to Aldi to get some shopping done.  I needed to do major shopping as I hadn't done it for about two weeks, and I had a lot of pantry staples to purchase.

I was in the check out lane with a cartload of groceries, and as I picked up the carton of light sour cream to put it on the conveyor belt, I noticed there was some sour cream on the bottom of the carton.  I flipped the light sour cream carton over and saw that there was a crack across the bottom of the carton.  To make matters worse, some of the sour cream had gotten on the conveyor belt.  I put the light sour cream carton, flipped upside down, on the conveyor belt and put my other groceries around it.  As soon as the cashier was done with the person in front of me, I planned to ask her throw away the sour cream and then let me clean up the mess.

There was a guy in line behind me who appeared to be about 60 years old.  He smiled at me and made some crack about how "you're not supposed to open the food until you get home."  I smile and joked back, "Well, I WAS kinda hungry..."  When I get to the front of the line, I told the cashier what happened, and she just laughed and then cleaned up the conveyor belt for me.  (Even though I said I would!)  I then noticed that the person who had checked out just ahead of me happened to set aside a few items that she couldn't afford.  One of the items, the only refrigerated item, was a carton of sour cream.  I thought, "PERFECT! I'll save someone a trip from having to put that back in the refrigerated section and I’ll buy it!"  I told the cashier that I would take the unwanted sour cream and she said, "It's not light, but is that ok with you?"  At this point I really didn't care, and I wasn't going to hold up the line just to go get a light sour cream...so I figured this worked out well.

All of a sudden, the gentleman who had been standing behind me showed up (I did not realize that he had left the line), and he was holding a new carton of light sour cream.  He said, "I wanted to do something nice for you, and I just can't afford to buy your groceries.  But I thought I could at least so something to help and get you another carton of light sour cream."  And then he said (and I can't believe this), "I wanted to help because it looks like you're a woman trying to hold the world together."

Wow.

I thanked him profusely, paid for my groceries and started to bag my order.  He only had a few items, and as he walked out, he told me to have a good day.  I got to the car, called my husband to tell him about what had happened and it made me cry!  I told my husband this guy was way too old to be hitting on me…it was purely an act of simple kindness.  This man knew exactly what I needed to hear to feel a sense of relief and worth.  The man didn't know this, but as I was standing in line, I was doing a lot of thinking and praying.  I was asking God yet again why He would allow my husband to lose his job and take new job opportunities away from him.  God sure does amazing things and uses people in some cool ways.

This little act of kindness made my ENTIRE day.  I thought of the purpose behind your blog, and I just had to share my story!”

Cool story, huh?  This was truly a “small thing” that this man did for my friend…and yet the affect was multiplied a hundred-fold!  This man understood that sometimes we WANT to do the big, super-meaningful things, like pay for someone’s groceries, but we can’t.  He then took the initiative to do what he could, and it meant the world to the recipient of his kind action and thoughtfulness.

Let’s all look for something we can do to show love, thoughtfulness, compassion, and care to someone else.  Our effort, no matter how small, can have a monumental positive affect and that should not be overlooked!

Look for ways to be thoughtful and give someone else a “sour cream” story!  I’d love to hear about it!