You Have No Idea the Difference YOU Make.

I had a different topic planned to share with you today but this is on my heart instead.

At some point, we all have the urge to feel that we want to give back, to make a difference in the world.  It’s an innate sense that we have.  

Some people do this through their careers, some through their community, some through fostering children, or animals…there are so many ways to make a difference in the world.

While so many of us WANT to make a difference.  We often wonder if our small acts of kindness truly matter at all.  

A story:

About a week after my first son was born, I remember telling my husband, “I thought I was going to be so much better at this.”  I was at the pinnacle of my exhaustion and overwhelm.  I later learned that I was not BY FAR the only one to have moments of doubt like that but at the time, I thought I was the only mom in the world who felt that way. 

A few days later, I gathered myself and my son for our first trip to the grocery store together.  It felt like a big event…it was!

When I got there, I picked him up in his carrier and headed inside.  I pulled out a cart and could not (for the life of me) figure out how to get it to click into place in the grocery cart.  It didn’t seem safe to just balance him on top while pushing him around the store.  It didn’t seem like a big deal at first but after a few tries, I started to feel hot with embarrassment.  I couldn’t look up for fear that all of the cashiers would be staring at me…possibly laughing.  I felt small.  I felt like a failure as a mom.  I felt like running out of that grocery store, never to return.

Then, from behind me I heard these words, “need help?”  I turned around and saw a woman with a very kind and friendly face.  Surely, she saw my humiliated expression.  She casually pointed to the teenage boy next to her and said, “This one’s number 4.”  Then, more compassionately, “It gets easier”.  

To this day, I have absolutely no idea who she was.  The grocery store is 3 minutes from my house and I go there all the time.  

But I think about her all of the time.  The difference she made in my life on that day.  In a moment where I truly needed her.  Her one small act of kindness has stayed with me for years…around 12 to be exact.  

I think about her son who witnessed that.  He may be grown a married with a baby of his own.  I wonder if he’ll remember that moment when his own wife is a new mom.  

I imagine that this sweet woman never thinks about me at all.  But she will always be someone important to me.  

I tell you this to say, my friend…

YOU HAVE NO IDEA how much you mean to this world.  

YOU HAVE NO IDEA how much your acts of kindness impact others’ lives.  

YOU MATTER.  

YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.  

If there was any way, I’d love to call this woman up and buy her a coffee and give her a hug…express my gratitude.  But I can’t.  She was a stranger.  She vanished as quickly as she appeared.  

So, I’ll tell you.  “Thank you for showing up.  Thank you for the love you pour out into the world.  If there is one thing we need more of right now, it’s that.  Thank you for your acts of kindness.  The seeds you plant, even if you never get to see the fruit.  

(In case you’re wondering)  I’m a happy mom.  Most of motherhood was wonderful.  But, we all have those moments.  Don’t we? 

You deserve the joy and peace you desire!  I'm cheering you on!