M.A.D.

For those faithful Klove listeners out there you know exactly what this means. Our Christian radio station talks frequently about "going M.A.D." meaning "Making a Difference" in someone's life daily. This is actually pretty easy for me to do for someone else. God has blessed me with a servant heart and I love making a difference in the car behind me at Starbucks by buying there coffee, or running through the local fast food line to give the homeless person on the corner some lunch. Not only does it make me feel so blessed but I want to be an example for my children as well. Our family is so incredibly blessed and it seems so simple sometimes to bring a little joy into someone else's life too.

Well, God took care of me last week and I haven't been able to write about it until now...the emotions have just been too high. Shane has had enormous stress for several weeks at work now and this past week it seemed to peak a little. When he came home Thursday he asked to be alone...he didn't want to be around anyone and I totally respect that. I decided to just load up the kids and take them to dinner...the best way to create total alone time in our house. We went to our family favorite...Serrano's.  (My kids devour the bean dip!!!) The kids, for the most part were on their best behavior and we enjoyed our dinner. I pulled out my card to pay and the waiter came by and said my meal had been taken care of. WHAT?!?!? Wait, what did he say? I questioned him...fumbling through my words. He repeated that my bill had been taken care of. I sat there STUNNED!!! I didn't even have a clear thought. Jacob chimed in and said Dad must have called and paid for dinner. That sounded like a reasonable thought. I was totally numb. Here we were, literally smack dab in the middle of the restaurant, and someone paid for our whole dinner...6 peoples worth. I went through a range of emotions in what seemed like minutes. I was humbled, shocked, blessed, and even a little embarrassed. I ran  through the whole evening...was I joy-filled or was I grumpy? Was I sitting her enjoying my kids or just looking as though it was all I could do to get through dinner? I wanted to stand up and scan the room, to shout THANK YOU from the top of my lungs, but then I may have been more on the crazy side. I really wanted to express the gratitude I felt and the humbleness that God have given me, my kids...such a huge gift.  As the event began to sink in it was all I could do to get out of there because the tears were going to come...any minute. Even as I write this, the tears well up. I got in the car, thanked God for His gift and sobbed all the way home. Did I really deserve this dinner from a stranger? Did I really deserve God's sacrifice on the cross? Did I deserve His love above all the selfishness in my past, present, and future? YES!!! And while it still brings me to tears I am filled with such joy and peace over this gift of dinner. I was encouraged greatly by the gift from someone who I don't know, and it will carry me for a long time. The joy of this season, the selfless giving to one another is not lost...this evening I will NEVER forget. God used a stranger to minister to my heart and confirm that He really does meet our needs...even the ones we don't realize we have. We are ALL worthy of His love, grace, and joy...grab Him and never let go!


How are you going to "go M.A.D."  for someone today?