Last Wednesday (15th June) I had some things to donate to the op shop and I needed to buy some bread, but I was running tight for school pick up.
I said a quick prayer asking to see God’s favour with a good car park. I got one just by the op shop. I ran in and out with my things and then M (my four-year old) and I went to the bread shop to make our purchase.
While there I was given a free sour dough roll (yum yum) and as we waited for our change I overheard that the person by my side was having trouble with the credit card machine … it would not work and she had her child waiting in the car and she was going to have to “leave it” …
I looked at her pile of bread and asked how much. It was only $12.15 … I grabbed the money from my purse and felt a strong anointing come as I paid for her purchase.
She was not “needy”, she was not desperate, in fact, she was clearly well off, but she didn’t have cash and the card machine was not working…
She looked at me and said “oh no” or something along those lines. I said to her “receive the blessing”. Her bread piled high all cut and ready for her to take! She then looked at the girls serving and said she would drop in the money to pay me back.
I said “no – receive the blessing!” She continued to make objections and I smiled and said that it was “… a random act of kindness so just receive … “ She continued to object and so I looked at her and said … “if you must, why not ’pay it forward’?” She looked at me, and I could see she knew the movie. The girls behind the counter nodded. She said she would “pay it forward”…
I left feeling the anointing. I checked with God that I was not meant to pray or do anything else. I felt Him confirm that this was all I was to do … release a random act of kindness, change the atmosphere, and usher in the Kingdom of Heaven. The act was not because she could not afford the food or because she could find no other solution … it was “just because”.
Just because she was loved by God … just because she was a fellow mum under pressure and time constraints … just because she was at the right place at the right time to be the recipient of God’s love … just because He sent His only Son to die for her … just because …
A small act of random kindness that will be passed on, and then maybe on, and then maybe on, and who knows … together, we may just change the world just because …
God is Good!
Note: movie is called “Pay it forward” released 2000