A Stop for Water Presents Opportunity for Kindness

Yesterday, another opportunity to do something kind for someone else presented itself to me. I was thirsty so I stopped at one of the convenience stores in town on my way home to get myself some bottled water. In front of me at the register was an older woman asking the clerk for directions to Lowe’s (a home remodeling supplies and appliance store.) This store is located on the northwest side of our city, and several miles away from the convenience store. As the cashier began giving directions to the other store to her, the woman asked him to write them down. This man speaks English better than he writes it apparently, as he asked me to write down the directions for her instead. Actually, it sounded more like a demand than a request for my help as he said, “You do this, you can do this” to me, but lets not split hairs here.

The clerk then turned his attention elsewhere so I began writing down the names of the streets and the directional path this lady needed to take to get to Lowe’s, while explaining each to her as I wrote them. Midway through this she asks me if I am going that way and could show her where it was. In truth, I was headed in the opposite direction, but looking at her flustered face, how could I not make the choice to drive there anyways with her following behind in her vehicle? That is exactly what I did and although it was several miles out of my way, it was so worth it to see the relaxed smile on her face when we both pulled into the Lowe’s parking lot.

I asked her if she would be able to get back home from the location that we were now at after finishing her shopping. I was willing to wait and lead her back to a roadway that she was familiar with so she would not get lost. She told me that she was confident she could find her way home from this place, and thanked me for helping her to find the store. I left then, with a very good feeling inside because, even though this was certainly not a huge thing that I had done, (driving 5 miles there and then 5 miles back to my originating point, to then head on home) I had offered kindness and help to this lady that I did not know.

Yesterday was a great day for me with many blessings. The opportunity to be kind and helpful to another was one of them and I wanted to share that experience with my readers. Thank you for taking the time to read this and other posts in this blog. As always, you are encouraged to share your comments with us, on this and anything else you see posted here in this blog.