What Can I Do Today? Be the Light.

You could almost hear the hiss of disappointment emanating from the line that snaked around the path to the cash registers.  It was hot and crowded and at least an hour-long wait to be able to pay for the second-hand bargain finds.  I picked up my heavy bags and inched forward every few minutes, like everyone else.

 When the cash registers were finally in sight, those around me started to feel hopeful that we would be out of the store soon.  That’s when I noticed a pregnant lady holding several child-size dresses in one hand with a two-year old on her hip, and two other small girls in tow.  She had a pleasant look on her face and her children were well behaved although the younger ones looked very tired.  She was about twelve people further back in line then me.

I asked the woman behind me if she would mind if I invited the young mother to get ahead of me in line.  She didn’t mind.  Then I asked the people behind her if they would mind if we let this pregnant lady with three other children ahead of us, cut in line.  Everyone was agreeable and something very special happened.  You could feel the lovely energy that was created by us coming together to do something kind for someone else. We weren’t focused on the heat, and the wait, and the aching arms from holding our bags.  We were focused on coming together and helping someone else.

 Like the old game of “telephone” you could see each person turning to the next person and asking them if it was okay to let this lady cut in line.  When it got to the mother, she listened, looked confused, and then almost cried.  She said thank you and made the walk down the line with her little girls in-tow, thanking us as she walked to her new spot in front of me.  She turned and asked me, “Did you do this?”.  I said, “No,” and gestured with my arm to include everyone, “we did this.” 

What a special moment we were able to enjoy by making this women’s day a little easier.

 I believe that God created us to contribute—that it is an innate characteristic inside of us.  We don’t need more laws to tell us what to do, we need more leaders to show us what to do.  We all won something that morning.  Every day, no matter where we are, we can do something to contribute and show the love of Jesus Christ.

Dear Jesus, You are the ultimate leader and teacher, help me to see what I can do today to help someone.  Amen.