Random Acts of Kindness
Yesterday the three girls, Scott, and I loaded up in the SUV and took my mom to the airport. I've always hated these days - always felt such heaviness after saying goodbye. I've always been close to my mom and now that I'm grown and constantly moving around the country, these goodbyes are a repeated reminder of how badly I wish I could have her around all the time. I sometimes dream of living in the same town as her, having her over every week for dinner, maybe doing a little Bible study together or taking advantage of having a grandma around and leaving the kids with her for a weekend get away with my husband. You know, do what many other couples do when they have awesome moms around!
But that isn't my life. We get short amounts of time with her, but the hours are precious. And this visit seemed even more precious to me. Maybe it was the added knowledge that my mom just fought breast cancer all while our family was in the middle of this crazy short-notice move to Ohio. I hated moving further away while she was going through that, but I also felt God's reassurance that it was all a part of His plan. Thankfully, she has been declared cancer-free and she was able to finally visit after months of feeling sick and tired. I think I saw her cherish the moments with her grand kids even more than usual this time around too. She had some great interactions with them, even with the boys. I watched as my 10-year-old son sat down and talked to her more than he's probably talked to her in the last 10 years of his life put together!
So yesterday when she headed inside the airport, the girls wailed, I sighed in sadness, and Scott gave me a look telling me that we should NOT have brought the girls with us on this trip. He suggested before we even left the house that it might be easier to leave them home and have them say their goodbyes there.
I turned around and looked at their teary faces and spoke loud enough for them to hear me over their cries, "I told your dad that you girls would not do this if we let you come! He said we should leave you home, but I promised him you would not carry on like this if we let you ride with grandma to the airport!" They immediately hushed their cries knowing that they had come close to being left at home during this trip, but the tears continued to fall from their eyes for a few more seconds until I pulled out the headphones. Thank God for technology. As soon as I set the headphones up to the appropriate volume for each of them to watch a DVD movie, all was well in the world (at least as well as it could be without Grandma!)
The rest of the way home, Scott and I battled with feelings of sadness mixed with feelings of uncertainty as we discussed our future. See, the brand that Scott works on for his company was about to be sold to another company and we were asked to move here last November so Scott could quickly set up a team for this new company. We went through a fairly quick move considering we had a house to sell and wouldn't you know it? The day they loaded the moving truck with all of our belongings, news broke that the company that was supposed to buy this snacks brand was going through an investigation.
To make a long story short, the sale isn't happening with this company, but the brand is now being bought by another larger company who already has a team established here in Ohio. So Scott was pretty much told the day before dropping my mom off to the airport that the likelihood of us moving over the next few months is high. That is pretty much the only information we have right now. We moved here in November with a clearly defined future ahead of us, got settled in, and now we are probably moving again. We just don't know where.
So we spent the day trying to distract ourselves. Scott and I went on an afternoon date, then came home and relaxed for a bit before taking the kids out to a restaurant to eat. We figured giving them something fun to do would end the day on a positive note, and going out to eat is a rare treat for them anymore since trying to take 5 kids to a restaurant can be a crazy (and expensive) ordeal at times!
Anyway, we show up at this place not too far from our home and it is PACKED. As we are being seated at our table, the crowd roars and Beka looks around at these people trying to figure out what the excitement was all about. Turns out their team was on its way to victory in a very close double-overtime basketball game. Too bad Scott and I aren't as into college basketball as the rest of the world.
We sat down and watched the crowd go wild as the game ended in victory. I noticed a lady sitting across from us with about 4 or 5 boys cheering enthusiastically. What a brave...or maybe crazy woman, taking all those boys out on her own like that...and she seemed to be having the time of her life! No, she is a cool mama, I decided.
As the waitress brought us our food, we dished out portions to each of our kids, grabbed hands, and bowed our heads in prayer. As we were about to dig in, this same cool mama with all those boys approached me with a white box.
"I just wanted to see if you might want these. They are gourmet cookies from Donna's bakery. I'm not sure how many are left in there, but they have not been touched and I know if I take them home I will eat them all. Also, I just wanted to let you know that it is so great to see your family pray together like that. We do that too... Anyway, here you go...they are gourmet cookies from Donna's Bakery. They are really good!"
I thanked her and watched her happily walk away with all those boys. I chuckled inside as I took note of how she mentioned they were "gourmet" twice. As I looked inside the box, I noticed there were 7 cookies. 3 M&M chocolate chip cookies - the kind my 3 girls would have picked out for themselves, and 4 chocolate chip cookies. There were enough for each of us to have one.
I placed the box under my daughter's seat and ate with the family. But I couldn't help but think about the significance of that moment for two reasons.
One, this is the second time that someone has reached out with a random act of kindness on a day Scott and I have taken my mom to the airport after an amazing visit. The other time, years ago, Scott and I stopped at a Cracker Barrel after dropping her off, and we sat in silence as we mentally noted her presence was gone. I was feeling especially sad that day, perhaps we were feeling some sort of uncertainty that day too when a couple walked by our table and gave us some sort of compliment. It's been so long, I have forgotten what they said, but I think they too mentioned our brief prayer time before eating.
We exchanged a few polite words and then I turned to my food, consumed by the sad emptiness that managed to fill my heart. Funny how emptiness can fill a heart at times like these. Turns out though, as I was dwelling on that loneliness, these people were paying for our meal.
I teared up the moment our waitress let us know, because at that very moment, I felt God speak to my heart.
"I see you. I know how you feel. You are not alone in this."
So last night as I counted the 7 "gourmet" cookies, I was reminded of his previous message. Then I looked at the other 6 people sitting around the table with me and knew that God wanted me to know that we are precious to Him. Like the "gourmet" cookies, we were carefully and lovingly made, and as cheesy as it sounds, we were mixed together into our own unique batch of a family. I may have this moment of uncertainty, but I was reminded that if God is willing to take the time to put us together the way He did...if He truly fit together every loving detail of our story and made it into something beautiful, then I can rest assured that where ever we end up, it is all a part of God's purpose for our family. You don't use your best ingredients and lovingly bake a batch of gourmet cookies then throw them in the trash! No. When you take the time to make something delicious, you usually have a purpose for doing it. You share them with those you care about.
So, thank you, God, for again reminding me through these random acts of kindness that You see me, You know how I feel, and most importantly, You are not leaving me alone in this. Thank you for those significant moments where you take the time to reach out and show me that you took the care to create us in your own special way. You LOVE US, and you have a plan for our lives. What better way to fill that emptiness in my heart with your peace, love, and joy! You know the secret to wooing this woman's heart ~ Dessert!
Oh...and by the way...those "gourmet" cookies?
They really were delicious!
But that isn't my life. We get short amounts of time with her, but the hours are precious. And this visit seemed even more precious to me. Maybe it was the added knowledge that my mom just fought breast cancer all while our family was in the middle of this crazy short-notice move to Ohio. I hated moving further away while she was going through that, but I also felt God's reassurance that it was all a part of His plan. Thankfully, she has been declared cancer-free and she was able to finally visit after months of feeling sick and tired. I think I saw her cherish the moments with her grand kids even more than usual this time around too. She had some great interactions with them, even with the boys. I watched as my 10-year-old son sat down and talked to her more than he's probably talked to her in the last 10 years of his life put together!
So yesterday when she headed inside the airport, the girls wailed, I sighed in sadness, and Scott gave me a look telling me that we should NOT have brought the girls with us on this trip. He suggested before we even left the house that it might be easier to leave them home and have them say their goodbyes there.
I turned around and looked at their teary faces and spoke loud enough for them to hear me over their cries, "I told your dad that you girls would not do this if we let you come! He said we should leave you home, but I promised him you would not carry on like this if we let you ride with grandma to the airport!" They immediately hushed their cries knowing that they had come close to being left at home during this trip, but the tears continued to fall from their eyes for a few more seconds until I pulled out the headphones. Thank God for technology. As soon as I set the headphones up to the appropriate volume for each of them to watch a DVD movie, all was well in the world (at least as well as it could be without Grandma!)
The rest of the way home, Scott and I battled with feelings of sadness mixed with feelings of uncertainty as we discussed our future. See, the brand that Scott works on for his company was about to be sold to another company and we were asked to move here last November so Scott could quickly set up a team for this new company. We went through a fairly quick move considering we had a house to sell and wouldn't you know it? The day they loaded the moving truck with all of our belongings, news broke that the company that was supposed to buy this snacks brand was going through an investigation.
To make a long story short, the sale isn't happening with this company, but the brand is now being bought by another larger company who already has a team established here in Ohio. So Scott was pretty much told the day before dropping my mom off to the airport that the likelihood of us moving over the next few months is high. That is pretty much the only information we have right now. We moved here in November with a clearly defined future ahead of us, got settled in, and now we are probably moving again. We just don't know where.
So we spent the day trying to distract ourselves. Scott and I went on an afternoon date, then came home and relaxed for a bit before taking the kids out to a restaurant to eat. We figured giving them something fun to do would end the day on a positive note, and going out to eat is a rare treat for them anymore since trying to take 5 kids to a restaurant can be a crazy (and expensive) ordeal at times!
Anyway, we show up at this place not too far from our home and it is PACKED. As we are being seated at our table, the crowd roars and Beka looks around at these people trying to figure out what the excitement was all about. Turns out their team was on its way to victory in a very close double-overtime basketball game. Too bad Scott and I aren't as into college basketball as the rest of the world.
We sat down and watched the crowd go wild as the game ended in victory. I noticed a lady sitting across from us with about 4 or 5 boys cheering enthusiastically. What a brave...or maybe crazy woman, taking all those boys out on her own like that...and she seemed to be having the time of her life! No, she is a cool mama, I decided.
As the waitress brought us our food, we dished out portions to each of our kids, grabbed hands, and bowed our heads in prayer. As we were about to dig in, this same cool mama with all those boys approached me with a white box.
"I just wanted to see if you might want these. They are gourmet cookies from Donna's bakery. I'm not sure how many are left in there, but they have not been touched and I know if I take them home I will eat them all. Also, I just wanted to let you know that it is so great to see your family pray together like that. We do that too... Anyway, here you go...they are gourmet cookies from Donna's Bakery. They are really good!"
I thanked her and watched her happily walk away with all those boys. I chuckled inside as I took note of how she mentioned they were "gourmet" twice. As I looked inside the box, I noticed there were 7 cookies. 3 M&M chocolate chip cookies - the kind my 3 girls would have picked out for themselves, and 4 chocolate chip cookies. There were enough for each of us to have one.
I placed the box under my daughter's seat and ate with the family. But I couldn't help but think about the significance of that moment for two reasons.
One, this is the second time that someone has reached out with a random act of kindness on a day Scott and I have taken my mom to the airport after an amazing visit. The other time, years ago, Scott and I stopped at a Cracker Barrel after dropping her off, and we sat in silence as we mentally noted her presence was gone. I was feeling especially sad that day, perhaps we were feeling some sort of uncertainty that day too when a couple walked by our table and gave us some sort of compliment. It's been so long, I have forgotten what they said, but I think they too mentioned our brief prayer time before eating.
We exchanged a few polite words and then I turned to my food, consumed by the sad emptiness that managed to fill my heart. Funny how emptiness can fill a heart at times like these. Turns out though, as I was dwelling on that loneliness, these people were paying for our meal.
I teared up the moment our waitress let us know, because at that very moment, I felt God speak to my heart.
"I see you. I know how you feel. You are not alone in this."
So last night as I counted the 7 "gourmet" cookies, I was reminded of his previous message. Then I looked at the other 6 people sitting around the table with me and knew that God wanted me to know that we are precious to Him. Like the "gourmet" cookies, we were carefully and lovingly made, and as cheesy as it sounds, we were mixed together into our own unique batch of a family. I may have this moment of uncertainty, but I was reminded that if God is willing to take the time to put us together the way He did...if He truly fit together every loving detail of our story and made it into something beautiful, then I can rest assured that where ever we end up, it is all a part of God's purpose for our family. You don't use your best ingredients and lovingly bake a batch of gourmet cookies then throw them in the trash! No. When you take the time to make something delicious, you usually have a purpose for doing it. You share them with those you care about.
So, thank you, God, for again reminding me through these random acts of kindness that You see me, You know how I feel, and most importantly, You are not leaving me alone in this. Thank you for those significant moments where you take the time to reach out and show me that you took the care to create us in your own special way. You LOVE US, and you have a plan for our lives. What better way to fill that emptiness in my heart with your peace, love, and joy! You know the secret to wooing this woman's heart ~ Dessert!
Oh...and by the way...those "gourmet" cookies?
They really were delicious!
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