Yesterday, I found a massive water from chick fil a on my porch. A sweet friend dropped it off after picking up dinner for her kids.
You may not understand why that matters or why on earth a grown woman would consider this a treat (or maybe you do – have you had their ice?) so if the idea is distracting to you, imagine she gifted something else and read on.
Being known is a gift.
Being remembered is a gift.
Sometimes a cup of cold water is a gift, not just because someone may enjoy or even need it, but because the gesture says:
I see you.
I know you.
I may think you’re crazy but I also think you’re worth remembering.
When my girls are invited to another child’s birthday I usually ask their parent what the child wants. Nothing is worse to a five or eight year old than getting something they are totally uninterested in or that they already have. Adults have the same feelings. We may be mature enough to smile and say thank you when someone gifts us a perfume we’re allergic to or a gift card to a restaurant we would never want to visit, and we may even be able to recognize that their effort was kind and thoughtful and more than enough. BUT. Those gifts from those who know us? Whether funny or extravagant or just . . . water, gifts that say,
I see you.
I know you.
You’re worth remembering,
can be used of God carry us through even the hardest of days.
This post isn’t about water or gifts or how to or how not to give a gift. It’s about how the simple act of paying attention (and listening to the still small leadings of the Holy Spirit) can impacts someone’s day (or life) for the better. Even if our love language isn’t acts or service or gift giving, we can find ways to reach those around us in the way they need to be reached.
God shows us kindness in the ways we need it most. If we pay close attention we will learn to recognize his quiet gestures of love that always minister to the deepest needs of our soul, often the unspoken ones. His love carries us through the hard days or seasons, shining light into our darkness. He says,
I see you.
I know you.
You’re worth remembering.
Watch for the ways he does this. Pay attention. Then ask him to help you be a vessel to do this for others, like my friend did that day. She had no idea my head was aching, that I had been in a verbal wrestling match with one of my kids, that I just needed . . . water. But she dropped it off, sent me a text to let me know it was there, and I was so thankful.
Be at peace! The Lord sees, knows, and remembers you.