The Christmas Spirit

I saw a random act of kindness today, and it made me happy. 

First, let me back up a little. 

 I ran errands a lot today.  I went by Andy's school (to drop off his paperwork for his "Who's Who" nomination - just a little happy dance there, being proud of my man and his 3.5 GPA) The post office, a quick run to the commissary, because we needed some lunch, and the boys wanted to eat Lunchables because they have really cool Starwars games printed on the back of them right now. The Dry cleaners. The Barber shop to get haircuts for both boys. Target to return some things, and finally, Publix, because I wanted several of their BOGO deals. It was a fairly cold (at least for S. GA) and rainy afternoon, and my kids were grumpy and tired. I really need to pee. I grabbed my coupons, my grocery bags, my purse, the hands of my children, and wound my way through the crowded parking lot all the way to the door before I realized that I had left my phone in the car. ARGHH!!! I had to have it... Andy was supposed to call any minute and meet up with us - I wound my way back to the car, nearly dropping my precariously balanced grocery bags and coupons along the way, dug my keys out of my purse, found my phone, reloaded everything back into my arms, grabbed my kids hands again and headed back across the parking lot. 

 And then, I saw it. The random act of kindness. And my trip out of the way was no longer wasted. In fact, it was totally worth it. It was a blessing. 

 A little old lady was loading her groceries into her trunk, slowly and carefully, one bag at a time. Now, Publix is usually really good about helping you to your car, and I give them Kudos for that, but they must have been busy today, because this little old lady was out there all by herself, loading up. And this parking lot is slanted funny, and hard to keep a cart still, and she had 4 or 5 gallons of bottled water in her cart, so I know it was a heavy load. 

 A young girl, probably mid 20's just walked up and asked if she wanted any help unloading her groceries. The older woman replied, "Well, I'm almost done, but if you can push my cart back for me, I would really appreciate it." and the younger woman said, "Why don't I get those waters out for you first, then I would be happy to push it back for you." (or something along those lines).

 I don't know why this made my day, but it did. The young girl didn't have to offer. The old lady could have been grumpy and rude. I could have remembered my phone the first time, and missed the whole thing. 

 I guess that is the point of this story. Things happen for a reason - even if just for me to see something I wouldn't have seen. So, next time you have to turn around and go back for something, keep your eyes open for the hidden treasure God has waiting around the corner for you. You never know... it just might make your day.