By Danielle Toddy
I was taking a break in the middle of a hot July day. I hadn’t brought a lunch with me to work and scrolling through all the nearby restaurants and fast food joints in my mind, nothing sounded appealing. I eventually decided to run up to Safeway to see if I could find something that sounded good. As I got into my car, I could barely touch the steering wheel before the air conditioner kicked in and cooled things down a bit. Once at the store, I parked my car and started to walk towards the entrance.
The sun was so bright and seemed to be directly in my eyes, so I headed straight for the door with my head down. That’s when I heard, “Ma’am, could you buy me a sandwich? I’m hungry and don’t have money.” I hadn’t even noticed the man crouching by one of the large pillars near the entrance to the store. I stopped and looked at him; his hands were stretched out, palms up to show me he indeed didn’t have any money. He was older, gray hair on his head and face. He was wearing khaki shorts and a dirty T-shirt and squinting his eyes to block some of the sun. He wasn’t asking for money, just a sandwich. “Sure,” I said. “What kind do you want?” “Just whatever—something with meat.” I went into the store and looked at the menu at the sandwich counter. What would he want? Should I order white bread or wheat? Would he want cheese and if so, what kind? Does he like mayonnaise? Mustard? One or the other or both?
Feeling a little bewildered at picking out what someone else would like, I went back outside. “Do you want to just come in and pick out what you want?” He immediately got up and followed me back into the store. He walked over to the ready-made sandwiches in the cooler and said, “One of these.” We looked through the options and he decided on a roast beef hoagie. As we walked to the register, I asked him if he wanted anything to go with his sandwich. He scrunched up his face and asked if it would be OK if he got some potato salad, warning me that it would cost about three dollars. “Sure. We can do that.”
As we stood in line at the deli, we started talking, and I pointed to a Greek pasta salad that I thought looked good. He started to waiver a bit on his decision about the potato salad and asked if I thought he should get the pasta instead. I told him that because he would be the one eating the food, he should get what he liked. He stuck with the potato salad. Remembering how hot it was outside, I asked him if he wanted to get a drink. He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. “Over there,” I pointed to the cooler of drinks near us, “Do you want to get something to drink?” He hesitantly walked a few feet away and then turned back—almost like he was making sure I was still there. “Just get what you want,” I said, “I’ll wait right here.” He quickly selected a cold soda and returned. We got the potato salad, paid for his food, and then I handed him some money and told him, “This is for later.” He smiled so big and turned to the cashier and said, “All I asked for was a sandwich!”
One of my favorite things to do is to do more than what’s expected and to do it unexpectedly. It’s good to do what you’ve been asked to do and what you’re expected to do, but it’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s satisfying to do things for others that aren’t expected—things that are a surprise, things where others may never know how they got done or who did them. And I don’t think I’m alone in that.
I know you also enjoy watching others smile because of a kindness that was unexpectedly bestowed upon them. I believe that random acts of kindness and pay-it-forwards are easy ways for us to be a part of God’s hands, feet, eyes, and ears. I believe that God plants this seed of compassion and cheerfulness in our hearts when we give, because it’s in His character and we are His creation (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).
And it’s what our Heavenly Father does for us (Luke 11:11). Not only does God tell us to ask Him for what we need, but He gives us so much more and far greater than we ever deserve (Malachi 3:10-12).
Reflecting on how blessed we are, engaged in the service of the church and its mission in the Rocky Mountain Conference, we are overwhelmed by God’s generosity towards us.
Yet, we find ourselves in the same position as the beggar, asking for a handout because we’re hungry. And God gives us so much more than we ask for—not only forgiveness and mercy, but salvation and grace. He gives us His very life. Like the beggar, we are surprised and exclaim, “All I asked for was a sandwich!”
–Danielle Toddy is RMC human resources director. Email her at: [email protected]