A Miracle On Happy Joe Drive

Most of us have no idea how much of an impact our actions have on someone else.  We just coast through our day and don't give another thought to the clothes we've donated or the money we gave or the simple smile we had on our face while thanking the cashier at the grocery store.  We just move from task to task, sometimes wondering if we'll ever do something more with our lives than pick up toys and change diapers.

This morning, I was at the Women's Choice Center.  I've already written about the center and what they do. I've already written about the needs they have and the impact having just one of those needs met in a small way has.  While I was volunteering today, I saw that impact first hand.

A woman came, distraught and on the verge of tears.  She asked if we had any size 5 diapers.  That is a size that doesn't last long at the Women's Choice Center because of the great need.  We had a single diaper in a size 5 and I brought it to her.  This woman had lost so much just this morning and to protect her privacy I'm going to keep those details to myself.  When we had to tell her that we didn't have anymore diapers in size 5 beyond the one in my hand, she broke down sobbing.  

Vicki, the executive director of the Women's Choice Center, is a licensed counselor and she comforted this woman, helping her go through what her options were and what her next steps had to be.  I felt so helpless as there was nothing I could offer to this woman to make everything better.  So I prayed.  I prayed that God would meet her needs and give her hope.  

Then the door opened and in walked a woman with a small child, a little boy who couldn't be more than 4 years old.  She carried a package of diapers and some swim diapers and brought them to me, looking at the woman who was sobbing with compassion in her eyes.  I got out a receipt for her donation and then I looked at the size of diapers she'd brought in so I could complete the inventory.  

They were a size 5.

I placed them on the counter for Vicki and she looked at them, then at me and asked what those were for.  I told her simply that they were a size 5 and for the woman who still sat wiping her tears.  She broke down again, this time in grateful sobs.

The woman who was donating the diapers didn't just leave with her receipt.  She stayed a moment, wrapping her arms around this crying woman and hugged her close, whispering prayers to her.  She took her son to the car and waited until this woman left, just to make sure she would be okay.  All of us in the center could've been knocked over with a feather.  God had arrived when He was desperately needed.

You never know what kind of an impact your actions have.  Those clothes you donated could be the answer to a homeless person's prayer.  Those diapers could give a mother peace and the ability to send her child to daycare so she can work to provide for them both.  That smile might just have convinced that cashier that  there really are nice people out there and change her complete outlook on the rest of her day.  

If you ever think you aren't doing important things, I ask you to read this post again and change your mind.