This Thanksgiving ... Changing Ordinary Opportunities into Blessings
So I have this friend. Her name is Betsy and she lives on Lookout Mountain in Tennessee. She is a beacon of light there. How cool is that? She is a beacon of light on Lookout Mountain! In recent weeks Betsy has gotten involved with Beacon People and pushed to live for more with tremendous energy and passion. Part of Betsy's passion is to champion people out in the world who are full of purpose. Because of this, its as if she has put on glasses to notice the world in a new way, to see and believe in others who are making a difference.
Well, today, on this Thanksgiving Eve, it happened again. Another everyday person filled with purpose crossed her path in an ordinary place who blessed her socks off. I'll let her tell you about it...
"There was a young gentleman in front of me in line at the grocery store today. He was probably in his twenties. Soft spoken, gentle. He was using his WIC vouchers to pay for his food. He had a number of items and for some reason, the clerk had to rescan everything. In the end, he had an extra 10.00 to spend. She suggested that he pick up some bananas because they were close enough to the register and everybody eats bananas. He was so worried about making me wait. He kept looking at me. I was oblivious because I was reading emails. I was in no hurry. Didn’t need to be anywhere fast. I was actually glad it was me behind him because it was Thanksgiving eve and I must have been the only one in the Food City not rushing around to cook and get ready for company. I told him to go ahead and get the bananas. I didn’t mind waiting.
He got his bananas, thanked me, paid, and left.
When I got ready to pay at the register, the cashier held up a $20 bill and told me the gentleman wanted to donate to my grocery bill because I had been so patient to wait.
I was brought to tears by a stranger. I didn’t need the $20. I wasn’t having a bad day and didn’t need cheering up. I didn’t look downtrodden. All I had done was practiced patience. On any other day, I might have been irritated being made to wait. But this day I practiced patience. And then I was thanked.
He left me a $20 dollar bill that he could have used for something else. I know some people might be irritated with the fact that he was using government vouchers to pay for his food, but had $20 to give to a stranger.
My take: He saw an opportunity to give and he took the opportunity. So many people don’t. There is joy in the giving.
I saw a quote today. It said:
Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. William A. Ward
What would it be like if we all took those ordinary opportunities and turned them into blessings?"
Thank you, Betsy, for such an awesome reminder as we enter the most thankful day of the year tomorrow.
Grateful beyond words.
and "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" 2 Corinthians 9:15
(For more of Betsy's purpose-filled stories you can go here.)
