Some Call it Random Acts of Kindness. I Call it Showing God's Love.

Today is November 1st. I honestly can't believe I just typed that...where has this year gone? With the month of November comes taking the time to think and talk about what we're thankful for. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. God has blessed us over and over again, my family and I are healthy and we're well taken care of.

Today we had a lazy Sunday. We decided to go to Friendly's for lunch-- we don't get there too often, but when we do the kids love it because they know they're going to be getting ice cream.

As we finished up our meal, I felt like God was speaking to me. What does God sound like, or how do you know God is speaking to you, you might wonder? Well I believe it's different for everyone. For some, God gives visions, for others He puts a thought in their head. For me, God put's a thought in my head and I can't stop thinking about it...and my heart races a little bit when I try to push away the thought. My spirit knows when He is telling me something. Today, He was telling me I was going to pay for the people sitting behind us.

Have you ever paid for someone else's bill in a restaurant? This is completely new to me. I have never done it before, nor has a random person ever paid for my bill. At first, I thought I was being silly and thought maybe I just thought of the idea myself. Nope, my heart started racing and the "feeling" got stronger. Okay God I "hear" you, and I'm going to pay for them. I wasn't worried about how much the bill was going to be, I have been blessed greatly and knew this was something I had to do.

Who is "them"? Well I'm not sure-- I never met the people sitting behind us, nor saw them in my life before. From what I could see, it was a mother with her son who seemed to be maybe 12 years old.

We shared the same waitress, so when it was time for us to gather our things and head up to the front to pay our bill at the cash register, I asked the lady who rang us up (who happened to be the manager) to call over our waitress for me. I simply said, "I want to pay for the people who are sitting behind our table". They said how sweet and asked if I knew them. I smiled and said "no, I just want to bless them". They were shocked, but yet happy to see someone being so nice to a stranger they didn't know, nor spoke one word to.

I asked our waitress to not tell the mother her bill (tip included) was paid for until we left the restaurant-- I didn't want any "glory" for it.

The world may call what I did today a random act of kindness. I however, simply believe it was me hearing the still small voice of God, obeying Him, and in the end showing His love to that mother, her son, our waitress and the manager of that Friendly's.

I'm not sharing this with you because I want a pat on the back or even any recognition for doing what I did. I just simply want to encourage you to jump at the next opportunity you have to bless someone and show God's love. Also, if you feel like you don't know what it means to hear from God, start asking Him to help you "hear" His voice. Be prepared to hear from Him, He may ask you do something that you have never done before or may be nervous to do, but He'll be with you every step of the way.

My Song, My Strength