The Old Lady

I have been going back and forth about whether or not to share this. I don't want this to take away from WHY I did it but I pray that you see my heart and my reasons. In the past I have struggled hard with raising my children with certain values and morals because of the HUGE differences with their Father and I. I never wanted it to turn into a fight or a "my way is right and his isn't" kind of thing. I encouraged them to always look to the Bible for their answers since mine were my convictions or opinions. I haven't had to do that for 9 months and if you haven't lived in both situations you might not understand how freeing that is:-) FTR I never did and I never have spoke ill of their Father.
I have always been thankful that my children have a soft spot in their heart for others even if they are loud;-) When someone is sick my youngest is quick to say "lets bring them dinner or send them something in the mail" and my oldest has asked me to stop and bring the crossing guard a drink on a hot day. My oldest and youngest are much more open about their feelings but my middle child is the one I think that has the most sensitive heart. He just isn't as open about it. Our life has changed so much in the last 9 months. SO MUCH. Back home we used to eat out all the time but now it is a rare occasion. As my children pointed out yesterday it was only the second time I have taken them out ALONE here. We had some appts yesterday and on the way back I was thinking I still needed to go grocery shopping and when I looked at the time I knew they had to be hungry so we stopped to grab a bite. We found this little hole in the wall diner because they always have the best food. They didn't disappoint and as we were sitting there eating our greasy food I noticed an old lady sitting alone. I wondered if she was all alone in the world or if this was her escape from home while the visiting nurse was taking care of her dying spouse...yeah I tend to really think of every possible scenario. I couldn't stop thinking about her and without really thinking when the waitress handed me our check I asked for hers. The waitress said "oh! you want Donna's check? do you know her?" and I explained I didn't but I wanted it anyway and she went on about how this lady came in everyday alone and read half a book and left. Everyday without fail. All alone. Something about that made me sad inside..WAS she all alone in the world? does she know Jesus? who will take care of her when she can no longer get around? who will shop for her? and when I turned back to the table all 3 of my kids were staring at me. Finally my middle child broke the silence and said "that was a very unselfish thing to do Mom" and I told him "but it was the right thing to do"...that little act that seems so natural to do was so big to them. It wasn't the first time I have done that but it was the first time they saw it because I couldn't walk away from them to pay since it is just me. I never realized how much it would touch them. I mean seriously touch them. My kids were still talking about it on the way to the grocery store. My oldest was cute because he is growing up and I want him to learn how to budget so I have been showing him how. He knows that we live on a tight budget but we do ok. When we got in the car he asked "can we even afford to do that?" and then before *I* could answer he said "yeah I guess so because no good deed goes unrewarded" lol Now I don't share this because I want a pat on the back because that is why I didN'T want to share it. I do love to bless people but I prefer to do it in private. I know where my blessings are:-) I just want to encourage those of you with children to allow them to see that stuff. They are watching and learning and the look on their faces when you do it is just priceless. What started out with me wanting to bless someone else turned into ME being blessed. For a minute I got to see what truly is important in raising my kids....