Share your animal crackers....and not just the broken ones.

I've been having one of those days. You know those days when your eyes burn hot with tears that you are trying bravely to hold back and your throat is thick with emotion. Surely others out there have had this very same feeling at one time or another. Sometimes days like these just happen, and sometimes they are the culmination of a week or a month or maybe even years difficulty, sadness, suffering, etc. Now before it starts to sound like I'm here to invite you to a pity party, I'm not. And I'm not writing this post fishing for nice little comments about me on my Facebook page or hoping people will ask things like, "Oh my goodness, is everything okay???" Truly. I'm just being real and telling you that this day has been hard. I don't feel compelled to share a reason. It doesn't really matter. That's not the point. What matters is that everybody has hard days and you don't always know who or why, but know that you can make a difference. Gosh, that sounds so cliche, but it is true. And that's why I'm writing this.

So here I am, having my hard day, trying to push through the hours, trying to hold it together so that I can take care of the kids and go to Bible study and run errands and make lunch and clean house when at every little corner that I turn something sweet happens. Like a gal offering to help me make my tea while I have my arms full with the baby. Or the person who noticed that I got a haircut and said it looked nice even though literally all I did this morning was wet it down and comb it. Or somebody offering to help me open the door (again arms full of kids). Or bumping into a new friend and having a nice little chit-chat. Or the employee at Walmart who didn't make a big deal over the fact that I knocked over an entire shelf of cereal with my giant diaper bag but who kindly came over to help me pick up the mess and said, "It's alright, I got you. I got you." Or my sweet little boy offering to share his animal crackers with me and digging through his entire snack cup to find one that wasn't broken (melt my heart). It's not like I was going through the morning like the walking wounded, driving people to come to my rescue. No. I was just going about my day dealing with things internally and came across people who, for whatever reason, were kind to me. And it made a difference. Granted I'm not suddenly having the best day of my life. There's still that burning eyes/thick throat thing happening every so often, but it was really nice in those brief moments to be the recipient of those small acts of kindness.

So why am I even writing about this? Because guess what? Everybody has hard days, hard weeks, hard seasons during their life. E-ver-y-bod-y. The fact is we live in a broken world where real people have real burdens and hurts and trials. And the thing is, most of the time we don't even know who. Could be that person over there who looks totally put together and confident. Could be that person over there who tends to go unnoticed. Could be a spouse or a coworker or the mail carrier or the kid behind the fast food counter putting in your order. Maybe that man just lost his wife or maybe that woman has a migraine or maybe that kid is being bullied. And maybe, just maybe they would be touched by an act of kindness. It may not cure their woes, but it just might brighten them up if even for a moment. So why not do something, significant or seemingly insignificant, to encourage the people around us whether they are loved ones or complete strangers. Open the door. Give a warm smile. Pay for somebody's coffee the next time you're in the drive thru at Starbucks. Find your best animal cracker and share it! You get the idea. I love this quote from Aesop and I used to have it posted in my classroom...No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. What I'm going at great lengths to say is that we just never know who is going through what and how even the simplest of gestures could make a big difference to another person.

Now here I sit, on the couch with my feet propped up, reflecting on a variety of things and avoiding the dishes on the kitchen counter. I'm thankful for those bright moments in my day, but I'm even more thankful for my God who put each of those people in my path today and who orchestrated a morning of sweetness for me in the midst of a difficult day.