"That felt good!"

"That felt good, Mommy!" 

No...not a massage...not a full tummy...not a hot shower......

This is what my 11 year old said to me after doing a good deed. 

We ran some errands today. First, we went to place called Russell's Unique Deals. A place that is so cool just to look even if you don't get anything :) He buys storage units, then sells the items.  Then we went to Wally World. It's DeanDean's b-day Monday and I have been wanting to get him a Scout by LeapFrog. Trev had one when he was younger and LOVED his, so I wanted to get DeanDean one, too. 

As we pull in to the little road towards Walmart, next to the gas station, there was a man there with a sign "Homeless Hungry God Bless." As I pulled into the parking lot of Walmart, I felt the need to get some type of food for him. 

As ANY parent knows....going into Walmart with kids, your mind doesn't remember everything if you don't have a list. I was lucky to remember the envelopes I needed....just happened to be next to the stationary as we got near the video games the boys wanted to look at....lol.

So as we leave Walmart and start to pull out of the road, I am in the lane to go left...which means I am not near that man I felt the need to get food for. I also realize I didn't get anything for him IN Walmart. I turn left, then make a U-turn to come back to him. I go to the gas station that is there and run in. Unfortunately, there aren't sandwiches in this station, but I get him a drink, chips, and a lil snack. 

As I get back in the car, I ask Mark if he sees the man with the sign. He says "Yes."  I hand him the bag and ask him "Will you take this stuff to him?" Mark replied with a "Yep!" So he bounded off and handed the bag of goodies off to the man. The man looked at Mark, looked at me, and thanked us both. He was very happy. He said "Thank you! I even have a drink too?!? Thank you!" And as we pulled away and turned left at the light again, he waved big with a smile....that wasn't there either of the times I saw him before.

As we left, Mark had a huge smile, also.  He said "That felt good, Mommy!" Trev said "What did?" And Mark replied "It always feels good to help someone." This was a proud mommy :)

I usually don't do this. I have given a drink or a bag of chips here or there. When I feel the call to do it. I don't give money....that's just the suspicious person in me. I usually don't tell people about it.....cuz I don't do it to brag! I do it to help that person and let them know God loves them. However, I have never done it when my kids were in the car or even let them do it. Just because 1) I haven't heard the call to do it; 2) I am a suspicious person and you don't know who those people are and I'm not going to put my kids in harm's way.

However, I felt the call to today and I think my kids needed to see it today. Then to hear Mark say "That felt good" made this mommy feel good.

It also gave me a chance to talk to them about Matthew 25:35-46 (The Message) :

 ^34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

^37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’

^41-43 “Then he will turn to the ‘goats,’ the ones on his left, and say, ‘Get out, worthless goats! You’re good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.’

⁴⁴ “Then those ‘goats’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn’t help?’

⁴⁵ “He will answer them, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.’

⁴⁶ “Then those ‘goats’ will be herded to their eternal doom, but the ‘sheep’ to their eternal reward.”