“Forget yourself for others and others will never forget you.” Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12

Has anybody ever given you something you didn’t expect to receive? An un-birthday present or an ‘I saw this and thought of you kind of thingy? It doesn’t have to be a lot or even cost much. Just knowing somebody’s thinking about you gives you the warm fuzzies. It feels pretty good, doesn’t it? I had forgotten how much pleasure that could bring….until I gave a gift like that to someone.

This is what happened. My sister and I were in Fred’s Dollar Store when I saw this cute little cobalt blue pitcher and bowl set. It was just a little pretty-pretty, too small to be useful, but it matched the colors of my Mom’s bedroom. I only had a few bucks, but I just couldn’t leave it there. I bought it for my mama. You would have thought I had given her a diamond ring! She grabbed me in a big ‘ole bear hug and squeezed me as only a mother could. She began to cry, and of course I teared up as well. She was so happy! Imagine that much joy from a $3.00 trinket! I felt like I did when I was four years old and had picked Mom a bunch of weeds and presented them to her as a bouquet of flowers. She hugged me and cried that day. (Maybe she had an allergic reaction to the weeds!)

I’ll never forget that big girl feeling I had that day. How about putting a flower on a co-worker’s desk ‘just because’? Or picking up a cute card for a friend? Give a kid a bag of chips. Your pastor a pen. Buy a stranger a cup of coffee. Any little old thing will do. Think of the person, their personality and do something. Say something nice. Write a note. Make a cup of tea. Giving is such a wonderful thing. God gives and gives and gives continually. We could never match His generous Sprit, but we could try!

Forget yourself for a sec and make a concerted effort to please someone else. The person may not even be a friend, but your gesture sure could open the door for that person to become one.

Love ya! Edith