This story may sound like I am doing that "humble brag" that my young adult kids talk about. But please hear my heart in the reason I share this story. ❤️ It was such a good reminder to me to not miss the opportunity to do good.
On Sunday afternoon I went to Walmart to just get a few things. I am a little competitive when it gets to picking the right line - can anyone relate 😉? So imagine my happiness when I found a line with only one man and he was paying - SCORE! I got distracted by my phone while waiting my turn, and wasn't paying attention to the checkout. After a bit, I got irritated. How does such a good line take this long 😒? That's when I realized that the man was returning each item to the cashier to see if his card would allow that purchase. While he was leaning into his cart to get out another item, I asked the cashier if he was unable to pay and what the amount was. Then I told her I would pay. She said, "for all of it?" (I think she was a little annoyed now, because if I had offered earlier it would have saved us all a lot of time, but I was staring at my phone as you know 🙄).
The man graciously accepted. He was a big man - NFL type, with an African accent. He was so kind, I told him I was thankful the Lord had given me the opportunity to bless him, and that he could bless someone else in some way; it didn't have to be financial. As we walked out, I asked him his name and how I could pray for him. Then we stood in front of Walmart and tears rolled down his cheeks and he told me his story. He said he had a masters degree and had been in a six figure job, but that his arrogance had brought him to the place he was at now. Wow! So insightful and humble. He told me his story and we talked for a while and then went our separate ways.
Here is what I learned from my brief time in Walmart with Joey (telling you his name so you can pray for him too).
I was so blessed by my small act of giving to Joey. The joy in my heart was huge. Jesus knew what He was talking about when He said "it is more blessed to give then to receive."
I almost missed the best part of my day because I was looking at my phone. 😬
My daily practice of expressing Gratitude on social media has truly helped turn "what I have into enough". (In my natural state, I struggle with feeling like we don't quite have enough money).
I am beyond grateful that God gave me the opportunity to do a little good for Joey. I know that those groceries won't last long and I regret that I didn't get his contact info so I could possibly help more (#learning). Thank YOU for giving me the opportunity to share my heart and for entering into this practice of gratefulness as well. Let's all look for ways to show generosity this week from an overflow of our THANKFUL HEARTS. We will be beyond blessed as we seize the opportunity to love on others.