A Gift Paid Forward

Remember the movie “Pay It Forward”? Actually … I didn’t like the movie that much because Haley Joel Osment died at the end and that just wasn’t cool! (Note to Hollywood … I like HAPPY endings! My life has enough reality!) Anyway the concept was to do something nice for someone, expecting nothing in return except that they, some day some how, would pass the blessing on to someone else.   It wasn’t really a new concept … the movie just gave it a name and a movement was born. Since then there have been Coke commercials and goodness knows how many other variations on the theme. It’s definitely a feel good spirit. And honestly it is the way I try to live my life. Nothing big because I am not a person of wealth. (In fact … if I don’t make my house payment soon we’ll be in trouble with the mortgage holder again. Really don’t want to go there!) But if I have the means and opportunity to bless someone in some small way … I do it. Because making others smile makes me happy!

Today, my friend Alycia Neighbours (a.k.a. the Crayon Wrangler), a newlywed with 8 kids (you REALLY should read her blog! The story of her wedding was ROTFL funny! Really!) made a comment that she was going to Blissdom (blogging conference in Nashville in February). I have been saying that I wanted to go and even discussed it with Bert. We decided against it because money is just too tight and this time of year is especially short! But I happened to be browsing Facebook (for 30 seconds coworkers … I swear!) when she made her comment and I responded that I would love to go but it would take a miracle!

Now I was having a really bad day! The software change that the powers that be have been warning us was coming for the last YEAR is hitting for sure tomorrow! And everyone was feeling massive pressure to get all of the data on our desks entered before we get kicked out of the system and are rendered unable to work for a few days. And then when we can get in … it will be brand new software. So the stress level was extreme! And at 10:40 I sent Bert a text message to ask him to pray for me because I was having a panic attack. As I was laying my phone back down a message popped up that I had a message on my Facebook profile …

It was Alycia and she told me to check my Inbox. Okay … another click … and a note from her asking me to define “a miracle.” So I told her. And it wouldn’t be cheap. What came next was completely out of the blue and totally distracted me from my panic attack …

She wanted to send me. Someone had sent her last year and she had promised that if she was ever in a place where she could “pay it forward” she would. Now she was passing on the blessing! I checked with hubby to make sure it was okay to plan to go. I checked with my boss about taking the time off. And … I am going to Blissdom!

Wow!