Paying it Backward

(I'm gonna get a bit serious on y'all today... I don't want to miss the opportunity to share a sweet encounter I had today... bear with me... Caden and his antics will be back up soon enough!! And of course more on my sweet Kaki too!)

I was twice blessed today in the Starbucks' drive-thru line when the cashier happily announced that the man in front of me had covered my drink for the day. I sat there awestruck for a moment as she continued to tell me that the man in front of him had paid for his drink and so he decided to the same. So, I thought for a mere second and blurted out, "Well, then, I'll do the same too!" The cashier seemed surprised and offered a nice sentiment of thanks and I drove away in tears! Happy TEARS...streaming down my face tears!

I KNOW what you are all thinking, "well, of course you were in tears... you are Katie and you are pregnant!" True! But pregnant or not I was moved by the thought of people... LINES of people... "Paying it Backward" in the Starbucks' drive-thru in little 'ol Georgetown, TX. I wondered how long it would last? Was I third in the chain? I wondered had the two men in front of me known each other, was it a friend treating a friend type of gesture? Or was it simply something nice to do for a fellow coffee-lover? I will never know and I suppose the reason doesn't really matter because its impact has been profound.

Ah, there is always so much more to glean from life's simplest blessings isn't there? God has so much to teach us and so much to share, and often it is in the minutia of life where he decides to impart a most tender piece of wisdom.

I've been thinking about this all day... I knew there was something bigger than a "free" cup of coffee for me and I didn't want to miss it! Oh I would hate to miss a lesson from a blessing... so much easier than learning lessons from consequences, AMEN?!! :) I realized that in their gestures, the two men in front of me were exhibiting goodness and compassion and perhaps even a bit of mercy as we ALL know how high those lattes are priced! I do not know the character of either of these men outside of this one meeting, but I am assured by the promises of God that they were created for goodness and whether or not they are men that acknowledge that truth, they still, in a split-second decision, in a busy drive-thru line chose to show goodness, compassion and mercy!!

And by golly if WE, the fallen man, can show goodness to our neighbors, who may or may not have even been our friends, then how much greater should the goodness, compassion and mercy that God chooses to pour out on us make us feel?! I'll tell you... It should makes us want to stand up, dance, shout and raise that hot cup of coffee straight up into the air in praise and thanksgiving to a God who chooses US!

And the Lord said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on those whom I will choose to have mercy, and I will have compassion on those whom I will choose to have compassion."

Exodus 33:18-20

He chooses to love us and he chose, the day He put Jesus on the cross, to have mercy, the sweetest most compassionate form of mercy on our souls. He conquered death for our sakes and He poured out His loving kindness and His overwhelming goodness onto the world, giving us the similar CHOICE to accept His sweetest offering.

In accepting Jesus as our Savior and Lord we are given the ability to see the goodness in life as if it is poured out like a hot cup of coffee right in front of us, regardless of our circumstances. We have the gift of hope and we have the security of a promise that the Lord indeed CHOSE us!

I am thankful for the opportunity to see people choose goodness today and I am hopeful that the chain of goodness continued to get passed back and back and back again... maybe it will make it through the line ALL day, maybe it only made it a few more cars, but my hope is that it made it to someone who in the trenches of life saw a glimmer of hope and a spark of goodness that will sustain them through the next "high priced coffee" they encounter. We've all got our "high priced coffees," they come at us from all angles of life, BUT remember... we've always got a CHOICE... choose hope, choose goodness, choose mercy, choose gratitude, choose Jesus!

I remain confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the LORD

in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the LORD.

Psalm 27:13-14