Scripture: Ps 119:49-72; Ps 49; Genesis 37:25-36; 1 Corinthians 2:1-13; Mark 1: 29-45
Scripture standout: Ps 119: "65 Do good to your servant
according to your word, LORD.
66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment,
for I trust your commands.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I obey your word.
68 You are good, and what you do is good;
teach me your decrees."
His Deed/The Day: I'm kind of cheating, but kind of not. This deed was accomplished last night, but it was late — and I'd already done Tuesday's deed. Please forgive!
OK, this one is a whopper. After school yesterday, the kids and I stopped off at the Gate station for a treat. When I was checking out, the nice red-headed cashier with the glasses admired my necklace. She called it sweet — it made her smile. The necklace was a random and non-special present I'd gotten from my dad at some point in my life. It's an after thought piece of jewelry that I always liked, but do not wear often. In fact, I just dug into my jewelry box the other night and unearthed it. The cashier's appreciation for it resonated.
It resonated so deeply, that after dropping the kids off at the house and going to the WJCT studios for an interview, I was still thinking about the cashier. Then, the urge. "Give her the necklace."
My first response, as I was pulling out of the studio parking lot — imagining happy hour — was "she'll think I'm a freak! I buy gas and crap there ALL THE TIME. I'll see her again, and again and again. And she'll think each time, 'there's that freak. The crazy lady. The psycho.'"
Still, the urge persisted.
Despite willing it away, Beast Master cruised home via the Gate Station instead of the more direct route back to the barn. I was about to wheel her into the parking lot when No-Nonsense Me said, "For the love of God, please keep on driving. Awkward!!!." I listened.
I kept on driving. I headed home.
I admired how nice the necklace looked when I waked past the mirror.
"Smart choice," I smiled at my near 40-something self.
Later, I took Marley to rock climbing and returned two hours later to retrieve her. As luck would have it, I needed gas — and Marley wanted ice cream. So into the Gate Station we swerved. While pumping gas, I tentatively removed the necklace and slipped it into my jeans pocket — just in case. The red-headed lady, however, was nowhere to be found. So we paid for our ice-cream and left. Whew, No-Nonsense Me sighed.
As I dug my hands back into my pockets to put the necklace back on, I saw her — stamping out a cigarette behind the store and heading back in to work. There was no stopping it now! I reversed my trot into the store, Marley in tow. I think I screamed, "Ma'am!" (maybe in a shrill tone...like a weirdo). Then I launched in with my story — explaining how glad I was so glad to see her, that I'd been wanting to give her this ever since we spoke this afternoon. I wanted her to have it. Yes, No-Nonsense Me, it was awkward. Kind of.
She teared up. She said thank you. We made introductions. Elaine thanked me again. Marley and I left. As we were walking back out to the gas pump, Marley reached up and put her little hand on my shoulder and left it there. "Mom, that was nice. Why did you do that? That was nice."
Now, whether Elaine will forever call me "super freak" under her breath or not, I could care less at this point. She might have filed me away in her mental psycho customer file! Whatev! The relief of acknowledging the urge was freeing. Maybe it meant something to her. Maybe not.
Deedsclosure: The Grocery Store Part II — So earlier we talked about all the do-gooding opportunities lurking at the grocery store check out line. Today, let's talk about the parking lot. It, too, yields some low hanging deeding fruit.
Always approach the parking lot slowly. Inevitably, there are many cars — quite a few driven by LOLs and LOMs (Lil' Ole Ladies and Men) who may be out for their one and only adventure for the day.
First, let them make that left hand turn they've been trying to make for 10 minutes.
Second, stop for the shoppers in the crosswalk. Surely there has to be a pedestrian law saying you MUST do this, and maybe there is — but how common is it to see oblivious drivers careening through the crosswalk totally unaware! Rude.
Third, look out for the chance to take someone's cart back into the store for them. Easy.
Fourth, let's talk about the guilty crossroads we all come to after a big trip to the grocery store: you've shopped, paid, loaded your crap in the car, and now you're tired thinking about getting home for the unload and restocking. And then there's the stupid cart. How easy is it to roll that puppy over to the median next to your car, or hump it over the parking marker — and get the heck out of dodge! Next time you're mulling this over, decide to lock your car and push the GD cart back up to the storefront. It takes two seconds — and it makes it a lot easier for the grocery guy to collect all the carts rolling around the parking lot. Low. Hanging. Fruit.
OK, this one is a whopper. After school yesterday, the kids and I stopped off at the Gate station for a treat. When I was checking out, the nice red-headed cashier with the glasses admired my necklace. She called it sweet — it made her smile. The necklace was a random and non-special present I'd gotten from my dad at some point in my life. It's an after thought piece of jewelry that I always liked, but do not wear often. In fact, I just dug into my jewelry box the other night and unearthed it. The cashier's appreciation for it resonated.
It resonated so deeply, that after dropping the kids off at the house and going to the WJCT studios for an interview, I was still thinking about the cashier. Then, the urge. "Give her the necklace."
My first response, as I was pulling out of the studio parking lot — imagining happy hour — was "she'll think I'm a freak! I buy gas and crap there ALL THE TIME. I'll see her again, and again and again. And she'll think each time, 'there's that freak. The crazy lady. The psycho.'"
Still, the urge persisted.
Despite willing it away, Beast Master cruised home via the Gate Station instead of the more direct route back to the barn. I was about to wheel her into the parking lot when No-Nonsense Me said, "For the love of God, please keep on driving. Awkward!!!." I listened.
I kept on driving. I headed home.
I admired how nice the necklace looked when I waked past the mirror.
"Smart choice," I smiled at my near 40-something self.
Later, I took Marley to rock climbing and returned two hours later to retrieve her. As luck would have it, I needed gas — and Marley wanted ice cream. So into the Gate Station we swerved. While pumping gas, I tentatively removed the necklace and slipped it into my jeans pocket — just in case. The red-headed lady, however, was nowhere to be found. So we paid for our ice-cream and left. Whew, No-Nonsense Me sighed.
As I dug my hands back into my pockets to put the necklace back on, I saw her — stamping out a cigarette behind the store and heading back in to work. There was no stopping it now! I reversed my trot into the store, Marley in tow. I think I screamed, "Ma'am!" (maybe in a shrill tone...like a weirdo). Then I launched in with my story — explaining how glad I was so glad to see her, that I'd been wanting to give her this ever since we spoke this afternoon. I wanted her to have it. Yes, No-Nonsense Me, it was awkward. Kind of.
She teared up. She said thank you. We made introductions. Elaine thanked me again. Marley and I left. As we were walking back out to the gas pump, Marley reached up and put her little hand on my shoulder and left it there. "Mom, that was nice. Why did you do that? That was nice."
Now, whether Elaine will forever call me "super freak" under her breath or not, I could care less at this point. She might have filed me away in her mental psycho customer file! Whatev! The relief of acknowledging the urge was freeing. Maybe it meant something to her. Maybe not.
Deedsclosure: The Grocery Store Part II — So earlier we talked about all the do-gooding opportunities lurking at the grocery store check out line. Today, let's talk about the parking lot. It, too, yields some low hanging deeding fruit.
Always approach the parking lot slowly. Inevitably, there are many cars — quite a few driven by LOLs and LOMs (Lil' Ole Ladies and Men) who may be out for their one and only adventure for the day.
First, let them make that left hand turn they've been trying to make for 10 minutes.
Second, stop for the shoppers in the crosswalk. Surely there has to be a pedestrian law saying you MUST do this, and maybe there is — but how common is it to see oblivious drivers careening through the crosswalk totally unaware! Rude.
Third, look out for the chance to take someone's cart back into the store for them. Easy.
No comments:
Post a Comment