Prompting

Have you ever done something for someone just because? Doesn't it make you feel wonderful to see the look on that person's face. I love that feeling. I love following the prompting in my heart which I know is not a coincidence. I truly believe that God prompts us to do things for others, big things and little things. I can not tell you the number of times that I have thought, "I really need to send "So and So" a card," only to get busy with something else and forget. I wonder how that card would have been exactly what "So and So" needed. Now I am not saying that I think anything I could do or say would truly impact someone else but I do believe that God uses my words, my thoughts in the life of that person. Does that make sense?

I have tried to follow those promptings and be a blessing to others over the years and every time I honestly think I am more blessed by being obedient than the person on the receiving end. Sometimes though I get in the way of being obedient. What if the person doesn't like what I am doing? I let my worries and anxieties get in the way so no one is blessed, not me, not the person on my heart.

There is one prompting that sticks out in my mind whenever I think about this topic. I did the following thing totally anonymously and to this day I don't think the recipient has any idea what I did. We have lost touch (which I truly hate) so I am more than sure she won't read this and figure it all out. I went on a missions trip my sophomore year in college which was life changing. I have some INCREDIBLE memories from this trip. God put together an amazing team of people for this trip. One of the girls on the team was having a hard time raising the last little bit of money for the trip. I remember we were all crowded in a room praying about this situation and there it was, the prompting. "Help her!" Now I was a college student and not rolling in the dough but there was a specific amount that kept coming to mind when I thought about helping. I went to the bank took out this amount, put it in an envelope with an anonymous note and shoved it under her door. I will never forget at our next team meeting her sharing how someone on campus had anonymously donated towards her trip and how moved she was from that act. After that the rest of her money came in and she was an important part of our team.

Last week I was on the receiving end of a prompting. A Mom that I have gotten to know in our new community emailed me to let me know she had something for me. When I saw her last week she handed me a beautiful pink box of Ralph Lauren Romance perfume. I was stunned. She said there was a story regarding the gift and she would email it to me. I got the email last night and was so blessed by this new sweet friend who followed a prompting. Here is what she wrote....I have changed only a few things to protect the identity of those involved. (That sounds really important, now doesn't it?)

"So I asked for that perfume 4 years ago for Christmas...2005 I think. I was prego with our first child. I was impatient and bought it for myself when I didn't get it for Christmas, but then got another bottle for my birthday. So I've had 2 since then. I've just selfishly kept it and thought that I'd use it when my first one ran out. Every time I saw it in the drawer, though, I'd wonder if there was something else I needed to do with it instead of keeping it for myself. So this past December, I saw the perfume again and again thought...what to do with this? Mine is almost gone, so I guess I'll just keep it. So that was it. But then as I was blog reading one night I ran across your wish list on your blog! And BAM! I knew God wanted YOU to have the perfume. So I wrapped it up and then never saw you until last week! I hope you're enjoying it!"

Thank you new, sweet friend. I am enjoying it! I was blessed by your act of kindness!

Follow those promptings people! Be a blessing to someone. Even the little things can be huge to someone because the actions behind those small things are HUGE.