Take Joy!!

How do we "Take Joy", when life does all it can to steal it from us? Do you ever feel like the happier you become the more disdain people show? What is this and why? The story goes something like this... I was in the store, looking over the produce, when an older women came over to pick over the bananas. I smiled and she turned away, wouldn't make eye contact. I must admit it kinda stung, but hey, smiles are free and I have more, so no worries. Moving along I started down the isles of the store minding my own business, but trying to connect with the other shoppers using eye contact and a simple smile. People we literally turning away like I had 3 eyes!! I rubbed my nose wondering if something was hanging from it. No nothing there. What was happening, I was simply looking to share a smile. I honestly started to feel angry and frustrated. It was in my opinion at the moment 'just bad manners, rude!'. Discouraged I finally made it up to the check-out lines, they were all full, probably 5 people in each line. Except for this one line completely open there stood this women behind the register with a BIG smile on here face. I looked around to see if #1 the line was truly open and #2 was anyone else moving towards it? Looking at the register attendant, she waved me over. "Hi, how are you today?" she asked. "Oh, I'm ok, thanks"I said expecting that to be the end, but she pressed on. "Just ok?" again with the smile. I smiled back. She continued with small talk, but the sheer joy and love inside her soon became blatantly apparent. Surprised by her true joy i looked her over. What was it?? There was nothing to indicate she had anything else that others didn't have except her Kroger name tag and that Big Smile. Suddenly I blurted out "Are you a Christian?" You could see the question startled her. Oh no, the smile was gone and she had a look of shock on her face. "How did you know?" she asked grabbing her bare neck, I suppose to feel for a cross. "I can see the Holy Spirit seeping right out of you" I said, now it was I with the big smile. Tears immediately sprang to her eyes and she said "that's my prayer ever day of my life, that others see God through me". Then, I kid you not, true story, we started hugging each other, in tears right over the check out line. Wow, it was truly an exchange i'll never forget. I look for that lady every time I go to Kroger and I never see her. Was she an angel?? Maybe. I went to that store looking for a smile and some groceries, and I left with a hug from the Holy Spirit. No more frustration or anger, just Joy!! Always choose JOY or you just might miss a hug from God himself. :)

why blog, why now??

Ok. I have to admit that I never really got the blogging thing until recently. When some of my beloved customers asked me last year to start a blog, I thought "WHY, only people with big egos or a desperate need for friends have a blog" This assumption was based on the 3 blogs I had actually read. So I started reading more blogs to see what the hype was about. Surely I was missing something. I WAS...inspiration, support, love, enthusiasm, and vulnerability. These wonderful virtues were being displayed and shared in many of the blogs i found and have grown to love. I am blogging in hopes that I can offer these same things to a reader. Not because I am particularly good at writing or spelling (thank God for spell check), but because i would like to share something with you. open your heart and what will you find... love or hate? open your mind and what do you think... open or closed? open your eyes and what will you see... possibilities or impossibilities? open you arms and what will you embrace... yourself or somebody else?