By Small and Simple Things

I wanted to share an experience where someone did a small act of service for me, but it meant a lot to me.  I was shopping with my 2-year-old (which, as you can imagine, was not going well) and she was currently throwing a giant tantrum.  I was wearing my angry face while trying to find all the things on my list as fast as possible to get home.  When I was suddenly on the receiving end of a hug, I was caught completely by surprise.  I had been so busy worrying about my daughter, I hadn't noticed a sweet woman from my church.  But she had noticed me.  She said some kind words, most of which I didn't take note of, and we went our separate ways.  It lifted me a bit, to know that she noticed me struggling and didn't judge, just hugged.  This would have been a great experience had it ended there, but it didn't. 

That afternoon, she stopped by our home with a plate full of delicious cinnamon rolls.  More than the treat, however, it was the words she spoke that made this service meaningful.  She said exactly what I needed to hear, she saw straight to the heart of what I felt.

 I know a lot of times I've thought I should say something or do something and changed my mind or decided it would be too embarrassing or that I didn't know how to say it.  This woman's words and actions encouraged me to not hold those kindnesses back. 

Of Strangers, Phones, and No Sense of Direction...

Anyone who knows me well can attest that a having a great sense of direction is just not one of my gifts. I get lost... A LOT. This particular occasion it was myself and my four children crammed in a minivan on our way from Richmond, VA to Birmingham, AL. I had decided to stop over for the night with my brother-in-law and his family (who live in a small town in South Carolina) in order to make the drive more manageable. It was my first time using my phone as my GPS for a long trip, and didn't realize using it for GPS and music was draining my battery so quickly there was no way the regular car charger could keep up. Just before reaching the South Carolina border, the phone went completely dead. It only took me a few moments to realize that not only had I just lost my directions and my tunes, I had also just lost my only source of communication that could actually help me get a second set of directions. Being the resourceful (albeit directionally challenged) woman that I am, I whipped out my road atlas and figured out what roads I needed to take and what exits to get off to get me to the right town. This plan worked out beautifully until I took the last exit and entered said town, and recognized absolutely nothing. It was about 11:00 at night, the kids were all asleep in the van, and I was completely lost. The atlas was no help for local roads, so I decided to drive down the road I was on until I found a gas station where I could ask for directions or make a phone call. I drove for several miles before finding one; I went up to the doors only to discover they were locked. Here's the thing about small towns, apparently everything shuts down about 9 p.m., and there are no large grocery stores, or anything, really, one can just walk into in the middle of the night. I continued to drive that direction until there was absolutely nothing in sight; no homes, stores, or any signs of civilization, so I turned around and headed the other way. After what felt like a hundred miles (but what was in actuality more like 10-20)I finally came across a gas station with lights on and people inside. Finally, I could ask for some directions. I waited in line behind several people before reaching the counter and asking if anyone knew where the address I had was located. Nope, no clue, was the response. Now, quite desperately, I inquired if they had a phone I could use...indeed they did, but as I went to dial my home phone number, I was told the phone could not be used for long distance phone numbers. The phone number of the family I was to visit was, of course, inside the inoperable phone, which now left me with zero directions, and zero contact information. I stood dazed, attempting not to cry in the middle of the crowded gas station, as I considered my options. At this time they basically boiled down to 1. sleeping in the van in the parking lot of the gas station, or 2. attempting to find a motel in this small town, after hours. After several minutes of trying to decided what to do, I was approached by a grandfatherly-like gentleman who somehow had noticed me amid the crowd and apparently saw the distress on my face. He asked if I was lost and if I needed a phone. I choked out a grateful "yes!", and called my home, only to get no answer. The man then said he had a GPS in his car that I could use, and went out and brought it back for me to type in the address. Unfortunately, the GPS could not find a signal and was unable to locate the address and directions. About this time, his phone rang with my home number returning the call..I was able to get my brother-in-law's number and then use the man's phone to call him for verbal directions (the man supplied me with a pen and paper). The man looked at the directions I had received and said he was concerned I could still get lost because a couple of the streets I would need to turn on were not well marked, were confusing, and it was very dark. He said he knew his new smart phone had an app for directions (he didn't know how to use it, but thought I could probably figure it out), and would like me to take his phone and use it to find my brother-in-law's house, and that my family could get it back to him later. I said I definitely could not take him up on that extremely generous offer, but that I would appreciate using his app to get a visual of a map to see where I needed to go. After seeing the map, I thanked him for all his help, and started for my van. He quickly said he was on his way home and that he could at least let me follow him past the first couple of streets and make sure I got headed in the right direction. I followed him, and then the directions, and eventually made it there safe and sound, only to find out the next morning that he had called my brother in law later that evening to make sure I had made it there OK. I regret not having written down the man's name (in fact, being as upset and tired as I was, I'm not sure I ever even asked it), and didn't think until months later that I could have gotten his phone number from my brother-in-law's phone, and therefore was not ever able to properly thank him for his extraordinary kindness and tell him how much it meant to me. i will, however, never forget his generosity and caring, and try to remind myself to use his example to look for other faces in crowds who may need a phone, or some other simple kindness from a stranger.