I handed her the receipt after it printed, and she asked if her card had finally gone through. I told her that it hadn't and that I had just used my own card. She seemed a little surprised, and then started insisting that she would run to the ATM really quick and pay me back. Then I did something super weird.
I looked her in the eyes and said, "Sometimes things happen to us that are out of our control, and when they do we just want people to understand. All I want you to do is have a good day, that's how you can pay me back." I gave her her food, smiled, and said goodbye. I told Jack about it, but I ultimately forgot about the whole thing.
Last week, while I was working, the same woman came in with her significant other, ordered some food and then went outside while he sat down. She came back in with a small black bag with Mary Kay written on it in pink. She called me by name and gave it to me. She expressed gratitude for what I had done when she had come in previously. It really made my whole day and I couldn't stop smiling.
When I got home later I opened the bag and found this:
It's a make-up compact from Mary Kay's line of One Woman Can products. It is about how one woman can change millions of lives through kindness and service to others.
I guess the whole thing is that a woman is a jewel that causes ripples in the lives of others. Hence the little yellow jewel in the corner of the compact and the ripples that are caused because of it.
She had hand written me a note thanking me for making ripples in her life. She remembered my name because of a small random act of charity.
I guess this is the part where I plug in some line about how we should be more charitable or something, but that's not necessarily what I want to point out.
My plug is actually about accepting the service and charitable acts that others offer to us. If no one accepted the service of others, service would be halted. Not because of the unwillingness to give it, but to accept it. My mother always taught us to accept the service of others. She grew up in a large family and often went without. Their friends and neighbors frequently offered aid and services to help them through difficult times. My mom once asked my grandpa if he was embarrassed that everyone offered things to his family first because they knew that they would need it. He told her no, because if he wasn't willing to accept the service of others, who would they show their kindness and compassion to?
Jack's grandpa Charlie always gave me a twenty dollar bill every time he saw me. Jack always felt some guilt to be accepting money from his grandpa, but I had to remind him of what it really was. It was the only service that Charlie could offer us. He couldn't help us move heavy furniture or watch Ivory on date night. It was all he had left to offer, and he offered it out of love. He always told me, "For the baby." And did he ever love miss Ivory! After all, she is his baby!
So here's my plug. Accept the genuine love and compassion offered to you by those around you. Accept it graciously and humbly. Say thank you and express gratitude. Smile. Remember that you are not a superhero and you cannot do it all. You are flawed by the grace of God, and surrounded by those who will boost you up to your full potential. If you don't accept the service of others, who will?
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