Spread some happiness

Today I want to tell you a story about three girls.  One is a mom and the other two are her daughters, ages 8 and 4.  This story is about how they made a goal for themselves, met and surpassed the goal, all the while bringing a blessing to the special lives they touched.

The mom works with a company which sells bags.  They have small cosmetic-type bags and bags large enough to carry a weekend worth of clothes.  One of their smaller bags sells for around $15.00 and the goal was set to sell 48 of those bags.  With the help of the two daughters, word was spread to friends and associates. The next step of the goal could start happening as the mom took her commission from the sale of the bags, to purchase toiletries and supplies, specifically used by cancer patients on chemo.  As the products are purchased and the bags assembled, they will then be distributed free of charge to those people that need them.

Mom was excited when the goal of 48 bags was reached, and the two girls were excited to see everything come together because they are personally delivering them to individuals who can use the bagged products. (A late purchase was made and 50+ people received a blessing. Another late purchase brought "walker bags" to residents of a nursing home.)

How does all of this fit into a blog dedicated to telling others about Jesus?  The timing couldn't have been better. Our church was in the middle of a challenge to each member to touch the lives of 100 people during a 40 day period.  Some looked for an opportunity to do things that go "the 2nd mile." Others brought smiles and happiness to faces that hadn't smiled in a while. 

People are always saying they don't know what to do for others until they ask.  We know that isn't true.  There are some that might not ever ask for a smile or a handshake, a personally written note to bring cheer, or even a squirt of WD-40 to make a door stop squeaking.  The purpose of the teaching at church was to activate everyone to do something nice for someone and bring a ray of happiness into their lives. 

Some participants kept journals and made frequent notes about their encounters.  Some made more than 40 people happy.  Others may still be working to achieve their goals.  It got us all actively involved in doing nice things for people. It made us think about all the seemingly insignificant things we could do or say to others.

My reason for telling this story is to show you how much even the small things can mean to someone. It's not a "brownie point" we earn for doing something good.  God has already taught us we are to be loving, forgiving and accepting toward others.  This is just Christianity in action.  It's the way we can show all people that we love them with the love of the Lord.  It's the way we can accept someone because of Jesus' cross.  It's the way we can let those who hurt us know we forgive them.

Oh yes, the three girls in my story are related to me.  One is my daughter and the two little ones are my granddaughters.  They not only help people through distributing those bags, but they sure make me proud.  They not only bring some happiness to those who receive those helpful bags, the happiness spreads  to the rest of us, too. 

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