Kindness at the coffee grinder

He's sleeping on my shoulder, legs wrapped around my growing middle, while she holds on to my belt loop as we head into the store. Others pass us by as I struggle to pull apart the shopping carts to set my purse inside. Balancing his bottom on the handlebar, I ask her to please climb into the back of the cart. I then begin to push the cart inside the store all the while people are still trying to push past. Once inside, it is crowded and I am re-thinking this trip to the grocery store. I twist and turn around people who just stare, most likely wondering why I am pushing a cart the way I am with a sleeping child laying against me. Noone cares to move to the side to make it just a tad easier for me to get by.


I make my way through the store only to have to backtrack a few aisles once she announces that she needs to use the restroom. Thankfully, there is no line, so I leave the cart behind, pick up my sleeping little man, and head inside with her. We then return to our cart and finish our trip, all while he is still asleep. I get to the coffee aisle, the last aisle in the store, and choose my blend. I then begin to ponder how I am going to manage opening the can of coffee, dumping it into the griner, and grinding my fresh beans, all while still holding my sleeping 2-year-old son.


It was then that kindness finally showed up in that store that day...in the very last aisle. She gently places her hand on my shoulder and asks if she could give me a helping hand. I am usually one to not want to bother other people for help, but quickly accepted her offer. She opened and poured my coffee beans into the grinder, allowing Emma to push the start button. She stayed and chatted with Emma for the 2 minutes that it took for the coffee to grind. Emma, being as chatty as she normally is, told her all about how her mama was going to have a baby and that the baby was a little girl. Her face lighting up the whole time. The kind lady showed genuine interest and gladness at Emma's news and said what a blessing this baby was going to be and how blessed she was to be coming to join our family! My coffee finished grinding and the lid was safely placed back on top and put into my shopping cart. I expressed my gratitude for her kindess and she said she couldn't just stand there and watch me struggle. She had to help.


I pushed my cart to the checkout, paid for our things, and walked out of the store. The stress I felt when I first entered the store quickly faded away.  Everything seemed to slow in a store where noone seemed to want to stop to show kindness.


I got to our car, placed {still} sleeping babe back into his carseat, buckled Emma in, placed my groceries into the trunk, and left. On my drive home, I kept thinking of the kindness of that lady, a complete stranger, every time the wind blew the scent of the coffee in the turnk my way. I hope to pay it forward one day and offer a lending hand to someone who just needs a bit of help and not be too busy to notice.


Kindness showed up at the coffee grinder that day and I am thankful that I accepted it and wasn't too busy to let it pass me by!


So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. ~ Matthew 7:12