Pay it forward

There was a movie with this title. The day i was in labor with little man my husband had rented this movie to watch while i was being induced--once things started happening the movie got shut off. Later when we went to watch it again my husband asked how much of it I had seen---"not much" I responded "I was a bit pre-occupied at the time it was on". We did watch the movie later and honestly i don't remember a whole lot of details but i do remember the intention of what they were saying. If each person pays forward an act of kindness what a nicer world we would live in. I believe this is true! I have tried to do this in my life--and there have been moments where that kindness has come back to me in return. Some people call it KARMA--some people call those that help their gaurdian angels. What ever the case it makes the giver of the kindness feel just as good as the one receiving the act--sometimes even better.

I found myself doing some last minute shopping on Christmas Eve--me and hundreds of my closest friends were running through Target finding that gift we had forgotten. I kept waiting for the announcement that the store was going to close but it wasn't coming--I found out later from my cashier that they had been told that if it was busy they were going to stay open. I felt bad that i was keeping these people from being able to go home with their families. Next year i am going to work hard not to do that again--it's not fair... why should they be penalized because of my lack of planning. There is that quote that goes something like this
"The lack of planning on your part
does not constitute an emergency on my part"
How true, how true...

That was not what this post is really about though. It is about paying it forward--remember?
While i was standing in line i was behind a young man--probably in his 20's. He was paying cash for all his purchases--which i admired--especially in this economy and at this time of year. As he was checking out it became evident that he did not have enough cash to get everything--he asked for a few items to be removed and then asked for the new total. He was still short--at this point i came out of my Christmas fog and asked how much he was short--57 cents--I didn't want to see him remove something else from his bag just because he was short 57 cents. I asked if i could give him the money--which he gratefully accepted. I only wish i had told him to put back the items he had removed--I thought about that after I had left. It was only a handful of change and yet it made a difference for this young man. How often are we given opportunities to make the difference in someones life--and maybe because of our own concerns or worries we fail to see those chances? We are all instruments in the lords hands--designed to help one another in this journey called life. I know i have received blessings from strangers in my times of need--I just hope and pray that I will be more mindful of those around me who are in need of my help--that i can make a difference--even if it is just a small one. Even if it was only worth 57 cents that day--I hope that someday this young man will pay it forward.......