Wednesday, February 2, 2011

goodness

dan and i were on our day long journey home from salt lake city from dear grandpa's funeral and we had a two hour layover in phoenix. i had just left all my family and my parents and i was just not having a good day. dan couldn't do anything right and i had a permanently furrowed brow and little frown on my face. we got to phoenix and walked across the whole airport to get to our gate... stopping on every conveyor belt and letting it slowly drag us and our one hundred pounds of belongings across the never ending corridors.

we wanted to eat something nutritious so we wouldn't be sick after a day of peanuts, soda, and watermelon sour patch kids so we decided to eat at a little mexican place. all the tables were taken so we were trying to scope out a spot to no avail. there was a 60-something lady sitting down at a table for four eating a wendy's salad with chili on top, we thought she looked nice enough so i asked her if we could sit down and share a table. she kindly allowed and as dan went to go get our burrito, beans, & rice, i set down my mountain and we began to talk. i quickly explained our story... in school, nurse, where we lived, etc. dan came back and plopped our meal down on the table.

"why do you only have one meal? are you not very hungry?"

"it's just so expensive here we are going to share..."

(pulls up out her wallet) ... "let me treat you"

we of course tried to refuse it but she insisted. as dan accepted the two five dollar bills i noticed tears streaming down my cheeks. i couldn't hold back! i did feel a little ridiculous, so i explained to her what we had been out in utah for and why i was a little "emotional."

she didn't know what a hard day we were having. she didn't know i was feeling down and sad. she didn't know that i had just said goodbye to my grandpa and then my sweet parents and grandmother at the airport. she didn't know how much she would touch my heart and help me realize what good people are out there! we had lunch together and had a really nice talk for about twenty minutes. what a nice lady.

thank you for being so kind and sharing your heart with us. thank you for helping me so much that day... i will never forget your humble kindness to me!

5 comments:

  1. Isnt it wonderful how Heavenly Father places little angels in our paths just when we need them. I am so thankful for that little angel and her kindness to my precious children. I will pass that on to someone else today and try to be an angel in someone's life in honor of that dear soul. We love you so much honey! Now you have 2 sets of Grandparents watching over you, along with your brother, Jacob.

    ReplyDelete
  2. HOW SWEET!!!!! i love this. that is the best. love it love it love it!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rachel, that is the best story ever! Now you get a chance to pay forward such a wonderful kindness and bless someone else's life in some little way. Thanks so much for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is a wonderful story. I read it with tears in my eyes. I know how something so small can feel so big when you need it the most. God bless her for her kindness. I'm sorry you had to go through the experience of losing someone you love so much, but now he can really be with you when you need him. Our love and prayers are with you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love moments like these. Where the littlest thing can mean so much, and the person who is giving has no idea. So sweet.

    ReplyDelete