Middle Woman

Standing in the doorway, blocking my entrance, the young Mom finally noticed me. She moved her stroller and waited her turn. The young lady at Mrs. Field's Cookies in the Outlet Mall took her order. I waited. She then asked for my order and I asked for the large cookie ordered for Trace's birthday party today.

"OH!" The young Mom exclaims as she is paying for her order. "I have a coupon on my phone - you get six free cookies with that large cookie!"
"Really?", I ask.
"Yes, I will show you!" she says as she pulls it up on her phone.
"It says it must be printed out, but let me ask - can she use this coupon for her order today?" she quizzes the sales clerk while showing her the coupon on her phone.
"Yes, I will give them to her." The sales clerk adds to our conversation.
"Well, thank you!" I say to both.
"I will take two chocolate chip, two oatmeal raisin and two peanut butter." I say as I surmise the case packed with treats.

I pay for my large cookie and as I walk out of the store, I notice the young Mom, now bent over feeding her child in the stroller, and I thank her again.

Walking into the Designer Fragrance Store a ways down, I gently slide the large cookie and the bag of smaller cookies on the counter near the register.
"Is that for us?" the sales clerk asks.
"No, but if you buy one, you get six smaller ones for free." I share.
"OH - I am just kidding. But it would be nice to get cookies for my employees." She says as she walks to look for the bottle of fragrance matching the empty one I pull from my purse.
As she returns with the fragrance and rings it up, I ask,
"How many employees do you have here today?"
"Hmmm" she says, as her eyes move slightly toward her eyebrows and she thinks, picturing each one in her head.
"There are six of us here today."
"Well," I say, "Here are two chocolate chip, two peanut butter and two oatmeal raisin cookies - six in all - enjoy"
"Really?" she says.
I place the bag on the counter.

So, I was simply the Middle Woman - walking in between a young Mom with a coupon to share and six employees at the fragrance store that needed a cookie break today.

We never know when The Good Lord may use others to bless us - and use us to bless others :))
Walking with Him is fun!!

A Clean Car

There is something beautiful about a clean car - well, actually, a clean anything is my preference. I have been accused of being a "clean freak" - maybe it is just a strength and a weakness.
So, getting ready to pick my boyfriend up from a long trip tonight, I decide to use the final coupon on my summer coupons for a car wash. The weather app on my phone predicted 0% chance of rain until tonight - after the airport run.
So, excited to have all the prior dirt and bugs removed, I enjoy the bubbles hitting my window - again, maybe the clean freak in me - or the child who likes bubbles - and I slowly pull into the stall to have it dried. I "over" tip the gentleman drying it - after all, he did spend a lot of time on it - and I am in a generous mood.
Making two stops on the way home, I avoid a dirty part of the road - driving slowly around hardened construction mud - and pull into the club house at Carillon for time on the elliptical machine before heading home. Twenty minutes on this machine always blesses my body.
As I get out of the car, I notice some drops that trailed down the windows after the young man's hard work.
So, I find paper towels in the back of my car - thank you, Lord, that I always carry them - and walk around the car with the finishing touch applied. It is a beautiful car, if I say so myself.
After ten minutes on the elliptical - while enjoying quick stepping praise music - I notice something happening outside the window. We call it rain.
Really? Really!!
I watch it - thinking of all the unnecessary work performed in the last hour on this car.
But, I still finish my workout - I don't know if rushing home would have saved me any drops.
And, as I exit the club house, the rain has stopped and the sun is out - brightly shining on all the wet drops on my car.

It reminds me that the best intentions in our lives may not always be the right timing - even if the timing makes sense to us - and we check with apps - and whatever other knowledge we have on earth.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart - and lean not on your own understanding." - OH - I love that verse.

And, I do know that whatever my car looks like for the rest of today - it will always be beautiful :)
Have a beautiful day!

Kevin & Jennifer's Best Man Speech