Today was SUCH a fun day to be out and about performing random acts of kindness for strangers! It was also a beautiful day (no more cold snow!) which helped to brighten our mood as well.
Our first stop was a local girl scout cookie stand. My friend, Dawn, posted on Facebook that her daughter’s troop would be selling cookies today outside a local store. She was so surprised to see us show up to support her daughter! We bought several boxes of girl scout cookies to use for RAKs, which delighted the girls eager to make a sale.
As I was chatting with Dawn, the girls had several sales in a row after mine and ended up selling out of Samoas – the boxes of cookies I just bought! Then Dawn leaned over and said, “You had perfect timing – not only did those cookies sell out, but we were supposed to be packed up and gone 30 minutes ago! I just got permission to stay longer right when you walked up!” Talk about blessings!
Then it was time to put my purchases into action. My daughter and I drove to a local mall to do a little bit of clothes shopping (great sales on bathing suits at JCPenney, by the way), but before we could even get started on our planned RAKs, I found myself in the midst of a God moment.
For those who are unbelievers, let me explain. Sometimes I find myself in the right place at the right time to do exactly what I feel God is whispering on my heart. These “God moments” are never about me – I’m simply a catalyst that God uses to speak to someone else in a crucial moment.
This particular God moment happened as I was pulling into the shopping mall parking lot. I noticed the car parked in front of me, the driver’s side door open, boots leaning out of the car. I could see the driver in the car’s rear view mirror and in that exact moment that I happened to see the mirror, I saw her profile. A dark skinned gal, probably in her 20’s, tears streaming down her face, cell phone held to her ear. It was a brief moment, mere seconds actually, but wow – it hit me so hard! It’s so difficult to explain in words the pain I could sense in this woman’s tears. I could almost feel her anguish, just as I sat in my own car.
Without hesitation, I knew EXACTLY what to do. A few days ago, I had placed a ziploc bag in my car’s glove compartment with a little note and two chocolates candies:
I didn’t have a particular plan for this treat, other than to use it for a RAK sometime in the future. (In all honesty, I totally forgot I had done this until this God moment refreshed my memory!) I reached in, grabbed the baggie, then walked towards the car. The car door was still open and now I could see that the driver was sobbing, her friend leaning over and comforting her. I simply gave her the baggie and said “This is for you. Be blessed.” I then turned and walked away, not daring to look back.
I will never know what news this gal received to jar such emotion, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that God used me right in that moment to let her know she was not alone.
And that, my friends, is just really cool. 🙂
So back to the actual RAKs I was trying to complete. Now, I don’t know if you are male or female, young or old, but I think I can make a fair statement that shopping for bathing suits is complete agony for many people (myself included). It’s almost like a necessary evil, I believe. Well, in this particular store there are fitting rooms right where the bathing suits are located and I went straight there to do my next RAK.
Knowing there would be gals in the fitting room trying on bathing suits (remember me mentioning misery?), I wanted to brighten someone’s day. I placed post-it notes with uplifting messages on the mirrors to make people smile when they looked at their reflection.
Surely someone would appreciate a reminder that they are beautiful! My next RAK was planned for a different fitting room on the other side of the store. I knew there was a fitting room near the older woman’s clothing area, and I wanted to bless someone who may have been on a fixed income. My next RAK was simply to leave a box of new, unopened Samoa girl scout cookies for a stranger with the message “Finders, Keepers!”
As I walked out of the fitting room, I saw two older ladies walk in and it gave me such a rush to think that maybe one of those ladies would discover my free cookies!
Later, as we were in the checkout line to make our shopping purchases, my daughter went back to the dressing room to see if the cookies were still there. They were gone! YAY! Mission accomplished!
My daughter and I had SUCH fun doing these random acts of kindness today – I couldn’t have asked for a better partner in crime!
May these small RAKs inspire you to do some RAKs of your own. As you can see from the post-it notes, it doesn’t cost anything to brighten someone else’s day. Just think outside of the box… or maybe just leave a box for someone else to enjoy!
Be blessed and thanks for sharing in my adventures!
