Goodness and Kindness

Jesse asked if I could pick up a lamp at Ikea yesterday. We love Ikea, so I didn't mind hauling all four kids in the rain. I had no problem purchasing the lamp. The food at Ikea is so cheap; I typically let the kids get a snack. My original plan was to get 3 individual cinnamon rolls for us to split, but it only cost a $1 more to get a pack of six. For whatever reason, the transaction was not approved. The cashier kept trying to use the chip instead of sliding it, then I maxed out on the number of times entering my pin number. I was very frustrated and embarrassed about the growing line behind me. I told the cashier to just forget about it, apologized to the kids, and walked away. As I was navigating the kids towards the exit, the lady behind me rushed after us and handed me our cinnamon rolls that she apparently purchased.

Later that afternoon Jackson and I were peeling potatoes for dinner. One of the potatoes had a brown spot inside. Jackson said, "Yuck! I am not eating that!". He started to throw the potato away, but I grabbed it from him and explained that we didn't have to waste the whole potato. I peeled away the brown. Jackson stopped and stared. Then he said, "That's the beauty of it. You can get rid of the little bit of bad and there's so much good left."

Now I don't think he was necessarily being philosophical or understood how that statement could be applied to so many things in life, but it still seemed like a profound thing for a four year old to say. I also don't think a $4 pack of cinnamon rolls was a burden for the stranger to spend. However, I am extremely grateful for random acts of kindness and reminders that there is so much beauty and good in the world.


"Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." -Psalm 23:6