Do the Unexpected

Have you ever just unexpectedly dropped by to say hello to an old friend?  Have you ever left a little note on someone's front door, or a small gift or treat in their mailbox?    Have you ever been traveling to someplace where you know that someone you have not been in good contact lives and just decided, on a whim, to call them to have coffee while you were in town?

ALL of those things happened to me on the same day last week.  A friend left me goodies in our mailbox.  ANOTHER dear old friend who I had lost touch with happened to be in town, called me up, and we set up a lovely last minute picnic at the park to catch up.  And, that evening, YET ANOTHER friend whom we had been meaning to get together with just showed up on our doorstep to give us quick hugs and a quick hello as he passed by our street.

I was having a hard day that day- our house was a wreck, our kids were bouncing off the walls, and I was exhausted.  I would have never reached out to anyone because I didn't have things all together.   I wouldn't have wanted anyone to see our home, I wouldn't have wanted to gather my kids for a picnic at the park. But each of these little surprises made my day just a little bit brighter and brought me out my funk!

Do you ever have little hunches that you should do something nice for someone only to never follow up?  I do all the time!  I'm feeling really inspired, though, to follow through on those little inklings- because that's what it means to live in community.  Reach out to others, step outside of your comfort zone, and you never know when you will be making someone's day.