Tonight, while at work, I felt the need to jot down some thoughts on a yellow post-it note and then, because I had no pockets, I tucked it in my bra.  I went about my evening doing all the things I normally do when I close the store and the only thing that made tonight different was the tiny little scratching sensation I would get from my tiny little note that wanted to be sure I wasn’t going to forget about the thoughts I had written on it earlier in the evening.  Are you curious as to what I wrote?  I promise I will tell you but first I want to tell you about a few of the wonderful customers I had tonight.

I was coming up one of the craft aisles when I saw a young man go whizzing past.  It wasn’t a typical customer spotting.  This guy was wearing a rather large black helmet and he appeared to know where what he needed was.  Not once did he ask me for help and when he ended up at the cutting counter beside a young girl, I decided he must have brought her to the store on his motorcycle and didn’t want to risk having his helmet stolen so he wore it inside.  After the fabric was cut for the young girl she walked away and he remained.  It was then I realized he had a bolt of fabric in his hands.  He sheepishly approached me and said, “I’ve never been here before and I have no idea how to do this but I would like just a small amount of this fabric.”  We discussed amounts and he decided on an eighth of a yard.  Once it was cut he thanked me for being so helpful and nice to him and then politely asked where he should go to pay for his fabric.  It was clear he had issues and difficulties dealing with things we often times take for granted but his eyes gave way to the beautiful person that was hiding inside that helmet.

Not long after he left I ran across an elderly couple and their son.  It was clear their son had Down’s Syndrome and it was also clear they feared how people might react to their precious son and appeared to be quite guarded.  I turned down the aisle they were standing in and said, “Hi!  How are you doing today?”  They responded pleasantly but were very reserved.  I was in search of a particular fabric for another customer so I had to ask their son if I could sneak around him and he couldn’t bow out of my way fast enough.  What a mannerly and incredibly kind person he was and what a reflection that was on his wonderful parents.

These two experiences are what inspired my note and finally….here is what I wrote.

Some of the most pleasant of God’s children face some pretty unimaginable odds.

I got to thinking about all the people I deal with on a daily basis and how unique and special they really all are.  The shining stars, though, are the ones like the ones I dealt with today.  Not once have I been insulted, judged or been made to feel anything but loved by those special souls.  They’re the ones God chooses for the heaviest of His crosses and the beauty and magic of their inner strength is one of the most amazing things we will ever witness, that is, if we view them with our hearts!

Today wasn’t just good….it was extraordinary!