Momma, this town needs some joy!

I was planning on posting this anyway, but in consideration of my last post, I thought it all the more reason to share.....

Ashley, our youngest at age 8 1/2 now, has always been able to make just about anybody's frown turn upside-down,... she can melt your heart with just a flash of her smile and a batting of those big doe eyes of her's. But lately, she has taken to purposely "Spreading Joy" as she calls it.

Now that Spring has sprung, there of course are daffodils sprouting everywhere, and she most certainly is not letting them go to waste!

Every time we leave the house, she picks another to take along with us to give to some lucky individual. To some this may seem sweet, but hardly spirit-moving. However, I beg to differ! I have seen this small act brighten person after person's day for the past few weeks, and it is amazing to me to watch as my little girl literally minister's God's love in this way... by letting her light shine. *que choir*

Just to give an example, the waitress at the ihop... whom it was evident had seen better days (as they were short-staffed & she was feeling the pressure)... Ashley reached out, gave her the flower and said, "This is for you.". The waitress was taken off-guard for a moment and then quickly smiled as Ashley added, "And, you're beautiful."..... You could see this woman's whole body soften in reciept of the love in this simple gesture from my child. She told Ashley "thank you", and then scurried off to complete the tasks of our order......... literally beaming. I even saw her stop another nearby waitress, who also was feeling the pressure they were under I might add, and asked her to help her put the flower in her hair (she had it in a bun) as she told her what Ashley had done. And then the other waitress seemed to almost melt over it, too! And regardless of everything else,.. she smiled, near glowed, for the rest of our time there. She beamed so much so that I can imagine it carried on with her throughout the rest of her evening.

Another example, is one of the managers at our local Fred Meyer. I rarely have seen this woman smile in the 3 1/2 years that we've lived here. Her mouth is always quite pursed, she looks tense and annoyed by humanity most days. Well, the other night, Ashley had gone with me to pick up a couple of things, and being it was few, we used the self-check/u-scan. At the terminal next to us, was this woman. She had just gotten off work, and was scanning a few of her own purchases before she left for home. Ashley wanted to give her the flower, and to be quite honest, I was debating whether or not she should even try because this woman's personality usually seems like one you generally want to avoid, and I wasn't sure how she would respond to Ashley. I was concerned her feelings might get hurt, but at the same time, this is something I try very hard to instill in my children,... to shine their light brightly in an ever-darkening world. So, Ashley walks over and says, "Excuse me... This is for you". The woman turned around with her usual grim face, and upon the sight of this angelic, little girl holding up a bright, yellow daffodil for her, completely transformed before my very eyes. Once again I saw a tired, tense human form instantly melt into a soft, welcoming spirit.... and you know, I do believe I saw her eyes glisten with a tear! She thanked Ashley, and as she started to turn, she turned back, leaned down and hugged her. She told us that she couldn't remember the last time anyone did something so sweet for her...

On the way to the video store the next day (& with flower in hand ready for the cashier), Ashley said to me, "Mommy, do you think Jesus is proud of me for spreading joy?", and of course I said "Yes, absolutely... You've been doing amazing things." She says, "Good. Because I like spreading joy, and Momma, this town NEEDS some joy!"

I never would have imagined so much joy could come just from recieving a flower, but in the last 2-3 weeks, I have seen lives being touched by this small gesture time and time again.... even the guy at the drive-through!

And then, a few days later, we were at Freddy's again and Ashley saw the manager gal so she said "hi" as we walked past behind her. She glanced not thinking someone was speaking to her, but once she caught sight of Ashley, I saw her do a double-take and then a big smile came over her face as she waved and almost shouted, "I still have your flower and every time I look at it, I think of you!".

I have lost count of how many people Ashley has effected with her flowers... If only more people would share even a small piece of kindness with one another maybe this world wouldn't seem so grim.

I am truly inspired by her. How about you?