Galatians 5:22-23

This verse is wonderful.  This verse deserves a spot on the wall in every house.  Goodness guess I’m going to have to buy more embroidery floss.  Really though, we should all strive to remember these “fruits” and grow them in our own lives.

This verse was perfect for me today.  I was shown these today from a “stranger”–in a small town no one is really a stranger, but this person was someone I really am not acquainted with more than knowing who they are.  Now allow me to tell you that story to maybe help you understand why my evening reading really struck home to me.

I had to run some errands in town today and took all the monkeys with me(yes definitely they were monkeys today).  Our first stop was at the post office.  I managed to get my packages sent without losing any children, though Patrick did get in a bit of trouble for being too much of a boy, he thought he might want to try to climb the window blinds as if they were ropes.  We then proceeded to walk to the store a few blocks away(I had the double stroller for the babies).  It was so nice out this seemed like a good day for our errands.

So we arrived at the store and went through picking up a few things, some apples and grapes and a few things out of the discount bin(gluten free betty crocker cake mixes for $2.50-I got all 4!!, and some marshmallows to use in our fruit salad for $.75).  We went to the checkout and the one of the women working the front came over and was commenting on the kids.  She was very sweet and loved that we were parenting 8 children(she had raised 5 kids in her blended family).  Her enthusiasm and kindness was wonderful and lifted my spirits.  As I finished putting my groceries back in the double stroller she came over and gave me a sack with two packages of Reese’s peanut butter cups just because.  The kids thought this was great as I don’t allow too many sweet treats(they get expensive with this many little ones).  After thanking her we went outside and crossed the street to walk the five or so blocks to our next stop(the library).  We had to stop as Mariah lost a shoe and that’s when I noticed that our sweet woman had come out of the store and was coming towards us.  She then presented me with a pretty bouquest of roses as a gift for being such a good person as she put it. 

Sitting here typing this my eyes are feeling full of tears at this wonderful person and how nice and caring she was to someone she really doesn’t know.  I had been having a bad day and she showed me that there still are wonderful people out there who believe that a smile and a little kindness go a long way.  What she gave us materially was more than a smile but what I will remember about her is not the flowers or the candy but her kind spirit and the fruits that she displayed.  I hope that someday I can brighten someones day as she did mine.