Thursday, May 26, 2011

Just a random act of kindness....if only the whole world joined in.

Saturday was a typical Saturday in the Supermom household. I took the girls to church for the Mother/Daughter breakfast. After I came home and cleaned up some then we rolled out to where else....the soccer field! Shay had a game followed by Nics but there was a hour break between games and I was STARVING! I asked Brian to take me to Subway so I could grab a sub. Nic and I went inside apparently he was hungry to. Well I noticed the man in front of me, he was a older gentlemen. He was ordering his sub....just a sub 6 inch sub to be exact. I took a mental note of the girl taking the order and noticed she seemed flustered. I wasn't sure if it was a "this customer is getting on my nerves" or the "I am the only worker and the line is building" flustered. Then I noticed she was intently looking at the gentlemen who I then noticed had that sound when he talked...that muffled not producing sound just more or less that round about sound..I don't know how to describe it...he was deaf. Now I knew what kind of flustered the sub maker was...with the customer. Well this kind of annoyed me a bit...you work with the general public and this gentlemen was deaf. He could not help that he couldn't hear and my bad you have to listen intently when he speaks and take note of where he is pointing! This got under my skin a bit but I just stood there kind of dumbfounded. I was watching this gentlemen trying so hard to communicate with the worker and her frustration was growing and to be honest I wanted to help but I don't know sign language I couldn't help! As I stood there I noticed the gentleman's clothes. They were slightly dirty and looked worn and his shoes had a hole in the toe, his shirt had a few holes...and he looked a little unkept. I couldn't help but wonder what kind of silent world he was living in. After the sub was done and the worker took him to the register he reached deep down in his pocket and started counting change...now the worker was really frustrated and I stood there praying for the right way to handle this....God answered me....

Smile and pay for this gentleman's food.

(worker is standing with that I am annoyed look and the gentlemen counting dimes)

I stood there for a minute trying to process what I was hearing and I heard it louder

SMILE AND PAY FOR THIS GENTLEMAN'S FOOD SHANNON!!

This time I heard my actual name....God was SERRRIOUS!

So I looked at Nic standing my the order here sign and said Stay here!

I walked up to register and I smiled at the worker and I said. Here take my card I got his meal.

She looked at me and said Do you know him??

I smiled and said No why do I need to know him to pay for his food?

She laughed and said NO but random strangers don't just pay for random peoples food! I smiled (like God said) and replied...they should! If more people showed more random acts of kindness and humanity towards strangers the world would be a much better place.

Then I lightly touched the gentleman's arm to get his attention...he looked up at me and there was a genuine sincerity in his eyes and I smiled and showed him the receipt and motioned..I got it for you!

He looked shocked and then he smiled and Thanked me.....50 times! He smiled and my heart was warmed. Then he shook my hand and bowed down to me I guess to show me how much he appreciated what I had done. I smiled really BIG and kept saying your welcome enjoy! He walked out turning to me bowing down and trying to say thank you thank you thank you.....

After he left I took my spot in the line and then I noticed the WHOLE demeanor of every witness in Subway had changed! The worker smiled at me and said "You are one special women...I have never seen anyone just pay for a strangers food". I smiled and said.."Well next time you go to a fast food restaurant....pay for the car behind you, then go to a sit down restaurant pick a random family and pay for them, God will reward those who serve him and others. Soon you can pay for the groceries to a family in front of you.

The point is, we are all quick to judge and get annoyed or think to much about random acts of kindness. If you hear that voice in your head its God follow him and his sayings I can promise he wont steer you wrong. You never know what the family in front of you at the grocery store went through to get there or to get the money to pay for it. She may have chosen to not pay her car payment because her kids were hungry or maybe they just lost their job and that was all the money they had and are praying for Gods help with the finances you just may be that answered prayer.

The best of this story. Nic said Mommy, Did you buy that mans food? That was very nice of you. Can I buy someone food with my Christmas money? I turned to him and I said Of course you can! We can donate it to the food pantry at church. That way your food could feed a few people in need! I have now started my 6 year old on the right path of kindness!

Friday, May 20, 2011

My husband will fight burglers naked....be warned!

Early this morning I rolled over and I remember this and I happened to hit my pillows the right way and I remember saying to myself...This is the MOST comfortable I had ever been and then boom DEEP SLEEP! Ever had one of those? Well not to much longer I was awakened by the sound of my house alarm! Brian has set it off pretty much every morning so I laid there in bed listening for the profanities and the THUD/THUMPS of the mad dash to turn it off......NOTHING......So I opened my eyes to see the light under the bathroom door. Brian was NOT leaving he was in the bathroom..Now the panic pretty much set in! I JUMPED up ran to the panel in my bedroom....all it said was ALARM ZONE 19??? What the heck was zone 19....so I listened our alarm talks on the main level. We opted for the talking alarm because my kids are sneaky and it shouts what has been opened. Example : BEEP BEEP BEEP...Fault Basement Door open.....I catch a kid sneaking outside through the basement! So anyway back to panic mode.....I then crept over to the bedroom door and I heard....(This scared the HELL out of me) ALARM DO DO DO DO Dining room WINDOW!!! What the......window......window....WINDOW!!! Someone is trying to break in....who comes in a window??? So now I haven't even called to Brian he is still in the bathroom....I start to sneak down the steps to get a view of the dining room windows. I didn't have to creep far to see them, so I look and NOTHING...its not opened, the screens are intact and not removed or ripped. So I calm down and then I turned, MIND YOU I am about 3 steps down, I turn to return to bed and let ADT know we are not being burglarized and I turn righ smack into.....MY HUSBAND MANHOOD! Of course I JUMPED Brian had apparently heard the alarm while attempting to get in the shower and came out behind me NAKED! I yelled at him..BRIAN YOUR NAKED!! He said I know but do you think if someone is breaking in my house I am worried about my clothes! I said well I bet they will....He said perfect way to scare them off...This still confuses me....So Thank you ADT for showing me that my husband will fight burglers either clothed or naked.....and Thank you for apparently going off for NO REASON and disturbing my Steller drooling on my pillow sleep...

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Mary mother of God: The original Supermom!

So my husband is gone (for work for a month been 2 weeks already) and I am feeling overwhelmed and stressed but have been finding moments of solitude and profound statements in the best place ever.....MY BIBLE! Who'd a thunk it right? :) Well upon reading Mark (my husband is a new bible reader YAY and he is reading it so I want to be on the up and up when he asks questions or forms a discussion) and in this book is some of the stories of Jesus during his time of human form here in earth. For those who aren't aware of his healing, and dealings, and miraculous work..read it its awesome ;) Well it sparked a conversation between my soul sister Sarah and I she being a fellow Christian whom I can go to with anything and she can find it usually instantly, sometimes it takes a little work but together we figure it out. I made the statement that how awesome it would have been to be alive in those times to see Jesus work in lives of people face to face or to see his footstep on the ground or to just be in the presence of him. We see him work in his spirit form and by our faith in him but I would have LOVED to see him work in the ways I have read. Well as that conversation progressed (about 2 hours of time) we moved from there and we were talking about Herod because I was seeing his name alot and then we proceeded to talk of his antics and his plot to massacre all baby boys under the Age of 2. Well this started a deeper mommy message about Mary herself.

Mary, the mother of the Son of God. That name carries such a deep meaning. Here is this young mother who gives birth to a baby boy not just any baby boy but the Son of God!! Then shortly after his birth Mary was informed that she had to flee Bethlehem with the baby to escape the King (Hebron) who ordered the death of all baby boys under the age of two! Put yourself in Mary's shoes as a mother...we all protect our children and would lay our lives down for them but she is the mother of the Messiah.
Mary fled the town and took the baby to Isreal where he would be safe. The protector of the Messiah is what she is in my definition...Supermom! Could you imagine the fear and anxiety and the mental anguish she must have felt. Her babies life was in danger! Ultimately his life was always in danger...not exactly danger but it was prophesied of what would become of him. Mary the devoted mother was with her son through all his suffering. women lose children due to other circumstance but usually not at any control of her own anyway BUT mary gave birth to a child and raised him knowing what would happen to him. How can you enjoy the time you have with your child knowing around the tender age of 33 years you would watch him be sacraficed for us. GRANTED, he did this for us and to carry the weight of all sins of the hman world and again ultimately to set us free but still being a mother I cant help but weep for her as well as him.

When Jesus was arrested and taken into custody and sentenced to the flogging and the torture where was Mary? I will tell you....with her son! She stayed with the crowds of people and she watched her son bear the most unbearable of all things. I know when B corrects our children I sometimes get that momma lion instinct and I want to step in. Place yourself in her shoes again....Could you as a mother watch what he went through on one of your own children? She walked along side him as he carried his cross all while still being beaten and harrased and mocked and she went to the top of that mountain and then again was there and watched as her son was crucified!! I cant help but feel very torn by her decision to watch what was done. I have trouble watching my children get vaccinations I could not even bear the thought of enduring the things that she did. I do have one thing to say about Jesus in this time in all his anguish and pain he thought of his mother and as he saw her during the crucifiction he made time for her and cared enough for her to appoint a disciple to care for her~~

John 19:26-27 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

I guess where I am going with this is I will never so much as dare to complain about motherhood or the trails and tribulatons of having a child when I will never experience and have to deal with what Mary did. I will always reflect on what she experienced and use it as my own life lesson. As you enjoy the presence of your children this Sunday Mothers day take to time to reflect and pray for what it could have been.