Scripture: Yes — now that it's such habit, I really look forward to this time
Silence: Yes, during my morning run
The Day/The Deed: Today's deeds can best be described as another low-hanging fruit opportunity and a stretch. The low-hanging fruit was to go through Marley's closet and bag up all the extraneous items for Goodwill. Good-bye large, cheaply made Rasta Man Banana from the fair! Adios single bunny slipper! Hasta la vista remnants of Polly Pockets and half-emptied beading sets. I'm sure someone will enjoy them, but that deed was done more for my desire to purge than to benefit others. Does that count? Done in that vain, probably not. So when I drove past the elementary school lemonade stand a few minutes later, I redeemed myself and purchased a glass— overpurchased even.
The stretch? Well, maybe it wasn't such a stretch — maybe it was a deed, depending on how you look at it. That deed was executed at the musical instrument fix-it place this afternoon. I was ready, too. I walked in and willed, willed, willed God to let me deed someone big time. I was on — and looking. There were a handful of men in the store, and there was a lot of chatter. A tired looking woman with a nice smile took Ben's trumpet to the back for a quick fix (he had to get a new spit sheath or something like that).
Rolling her eyes at all the men and their twaddling, she said she was the only one in the store who didn't get all stressed out about stuff. I told her I liked her necklace. And that was all it took. Have you ever talked to someone and you swore they'd never stop? I wound her up, and OFF SHE WENT! She talked about how she put the necklace on layaway a few years back and now she has a charm bracelet on layaway and how she's going to St. Augustine this weekend to help her mother and how she wants the new Nintendo 3D and— as Seinfeld's Elaine would say — yada, yada, yada. Instead of acting disinterested and annoyed, I decided to listen up — and engage her. I honed in on her abounding yada. This is not like me. Sometimes big talkers like this woman make me retreat and plan my escape. It ended up being a nice conversation. I learned some interesting things about her, and she got to purge an excess of information. Maybe that felt good for her. A deed? I think listening joyfully to someone who wants to share is a deed. Maybe not, but maybe so?
Words of Encouragement/Advice: This, another bit from Checklist for Life.
"Consider the needs of others. Each person you run into in any given day is dealing with the trials of life just as you are. You are not the only one who has a difficult job, a troublesome relative, or a car that doesn't start on cold mornings. Invest yourself in the lives of others. Ask them how they're doing. Reduced the number of "I" messages and spend more time listening. Look for ways to help others through life's challenges, and your own life will be enriched in ways that selfish pursuits could never match."
Check this out! OK, I'll make no secret about the fact that I love Brian Williams and his Making a Difference reports. They are so inspiring! Watch this one, go Sister Doctor!
OK, and here's another one from my man Brian. It's about overweight people in Vicksburg, Mississippi — many of whom have the sugars. Vicksburg, coincidentally, is probably the root of my sugars. My family landed there when they arrived from Germany and Denmark in the late 1800s. Their business? A CANDY company.
And this, from Mother Teresa: "Lord, grant that I may seek to comfort rather than to be comforted."
Final thoughts: I am no Mother Teresa. But I am a mother. And I like her prayer, but acknowledge what a big one that is. It takes courage to pray for something that big. I will try it this week and see what happens.
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