The other day while running errands, I noticed the tire on my car was a little flat and went to fill it with air at the gas station. There was another woman there filling up her tire and as I waited, I noticed she stopped and would shake out and rub her hands as if she was in pain. I paused, because some people don’t always like to be helped. But after watching her shake her hands out a second time, I turned off my car and went and asked if I could help her. She said “Yes, please!” And so I filled up her tire for her.
She explained that she had neuropathy in her hands from cancer. My mother had neuropathy in her feet from diabetes and I knew how painful it could be. She used to describe it as sharp needles of pain. I was glad I could help and after wishing her a nice day, she thanked me and left. I thought no more about it.
The following Sunday, while sitting in church, we were encouraged to get up and share our feelings about Jesus Christ and other spiritual subjects if we felt inspired. It’s called Testimony meeting and we have it once a month. For some reason, though I don’t normally, I felt inspired to get up and share what had happened and talk about service to others as a way to light the world in dark times.
After I sat down, another woman stood up and said “I have the second half to Melissa’s story,” and she went on to describe that it was her friend who had been the cancer survivor! They had met at lunch just after my experience with her and she had talked about how grateful she was for the woman that had showed up when she needed help.
The woman spoke about how our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are in the details of our lives. I sat there in awe (as did most of the rest of the audience) and couldn’t help the tears from flowing freely down my cheek. I realized again how important our lives and everyday cares are to our Heavenly Father. I thought about the numerous times someone has served me: an inspired call when I was lonely or feeling discouraged, a gift of money when I was broke, a knock at the door with some Christmas chocolate when I was craving chocolate just at the moment…and the list goes on.
What better way to celebrate Christmas than with random acts of love and kindness? You can be the angel to someone else if you just listen to that little voice inside of you. Sometimes it’s just a hug, a smile, a kind word offered to someone having a hard day, extra change, a listening ear, a pair of shoes, a shoveled sidewalk, a conversation with a lonely person and sometimes…it’s just air in a tire.
Sending my love and hugs and Christmas wishes to you all!
It slipped in softly and early this year. It started long before the holiday decorations appeared in the stores…long before the carols began to play. It began to appear when the first cloudy, cooler day came. The barest drift of snow appeared on the very tops of the mountains and the autumn colors were changing all about me. It whispered to me…but I didn’t hear it.
Then one day, while listening to quiet music, one of my favorite Christmas songs was suggested and though it was October, I listened to it. The notes began to caress my spirit tenderly and quietly. Like a warm hug that starts from inside and moves outward, I felt peacefully wrapped in love. Once that song had finished, another one began to play…another gentle melody, another favorite song. For more than an hour, I sat and listened to one tender, reverent song after another…and the darkness disappeared.
Wallflower Blossoming 