#7 - check!

It's July, so it's high time I get crackin' on my list of things to do before I turn 31. Well, this one wasn't one I could plan well, but it turns out I was able to do it. I think it's one of the best things I've ever had the privilege to be a part of. So here's how I accomplished #7 "Be someone's miracle"...

One afternoon of Girl's Camp this past week, we traveled from our camp at Beaver Mountain to Bear Lake for some beach fun. On the way back I wanted to stop for some cough drops (you'd think I'd know never to leave home without them by now). I was going to stop at a gas station I know well in Garden City, but I saw this handy market a few miles up the road. So I stopped and left the girls in the car and ran in. There was a lady rummaging through the medicines reading labels. I could tell from her accent she was either from New Zealand or Australia (but didn't dare ask which because they get offended if you guess the wrong one and I can only tell the difference when they say the word heart...weird, but true)...later I asked where she was from and she said New Zealand. Anyway, I asked if I could help her with something and she explained that her husband was a post-transplant patient and he had some kind of rash. She called the hospital back home and they said to give him benadryl immediately. The market was out. She was rather distraught and upset, not knowing what to do. She was going to call the hospital again to see if there was anything else she could give him. I wished her luck, made my purchase, and headed back to the car. I asked the girls if any of them happened to have some with them and they said no. So we headed back towards camp. I couldn't get that lady off my mind. As we got to Garden City, I decided to just stop at the gas station and see if they had any. Sure enough, they did! I got back to the car and told the girls to pray that she was still at the other store and we would be able to find her. We got back to the store and she was just coming out, empty handed...looking a bit defeated. I was so excited I went up and gave her the bottle I had purchased. She tried to pay me and I told her not to worry about it. Then she gave me a hug and asked me what she could possibly do to repay me and I told her "just know that God was watching out for you today". I went back to the car and we drove back to camp.

It was truly one of the coolest experiences of my life. I need to pay more attention to others and look for opportunities to serve. How easy it would have been to grab what I came for and rush out like I normally do, ignoring those around me. It's so easy to stay in my comfortable little shell, never connecting with those I come in contact with. The interesting paradox in the whole thing is that it blessed me far more than it possibly could have blessed that lady. I am thankful for her, and for the opportunity she gave me to feel important and needed.