Ok…another “It’s a Small World” story. Mr. FixIt has a buddy he used to bowl with years ago. On occasion they get on the phone and talk each other’s ear off. I’ve met him before and he’s a kindly fellow who tells elaborate and thoughtful stories. And he has the most fascinating face. He’s in his eighties and doesn’t have but the slightest wrinkles at the corner of his eyes…from all those years of smiling, I reckon.

Anyway, as the stories moved along, his daughter was with him and she turned to me.

“May I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” I replied.

“Do you by any chance write a blog?” 

Mr. FixIt and I both started laughing. This is the second time in two weeks this has happened. 

I was curious how she could have recognized me because Mr. FixIt and I both were wearing masks. She said it was my braid and the way it lays across my shoulder. She’s been reading me for a long time and enjoys my writing. I am always so humbled by this. You never know who you might be touching when you reach out with loving kindness in your heart. I’ve always prayed that God would bring me the words to say, and the people who need to hear them. This gentleman just lost a daughter last week to cancer…this lovely lady just lost her sister. I hope my stories of grief and God and how He has carried me though the impossible help them as they navigate this journey without their loved one.

And I introduced her to Mr. FixIt. One of only a handful of people who ever actually see his face. Well, as much of it as she could see with him wearing a mask.

Our “quick trip” into town lasted seven hours! When Mr. FixIt asked if I wanted to go into town with him, I said, “On one condition….that it doesn’t turn into an all day ordeal.” I love this guy…I truly do. AND…if you’re going to town with him, you had better pack a lunch (and maybe supper) because there’s no such thing as a “quick trip to town.” There was lots to do, mind you. 

We went to the Former Mrs. FixIt’s house to get underneath her house to turn off her water to the outside faucets so they don’t freeze up over the winter. She brought us a gift from the beach. We stopped for bird seed and conversation. We went to three different pharmacies to try to get our Bivalent Covid booster but one was all out and the other two would only give injections by appointment. We scheduled our shots for next Thursday.

Oh, here’s something cool. I got a notification from the Sheetz app (one of our local gas stations) saying for a short time they would give me an extra twenty cents per gallon off my fuel. Since I was down to a quarter tank, we stopped in and when I scanned in my card, I was offered FORTY cents off per gallon! I must have had a lot of points on that card. We paid $3.11 a gallon!!! It was a banner day, that’s for sure. We ate at the Corner Cafe as it wasn’t crowded. They just expanded their hours and the word’s not out yet. We went to our favorite grocery store after and picked up a few things. Then we hightailed it home. And, I will do everything in my power to stay at home the rest of the week!

Remember to be genuinely kind in your comings and goings with people. You have no idea how many lives you may touch when your kind word or thoughtful gesture might be the difference between darkness and light for someone. 

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“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬