Pay It Forward

I take public transportation when I go to work in the mornings. I usually see people who are rude and cranky in the mornings as they go to work with little regard to those around them. I...used to be one of those people. One day, last month, I decided to be different. As a Christian I want to make sure that my attitude and behavior mirrors that of Christ so that they can have an accurate perspective of what He is like. Given that, I decided that I was going to smile or smize (smiling with your eyes) while I walked, I was going to appear and BE pleasant, use my manners etc etc.

One of the things that I have been doing is saying "good morning", "thank you" and "have a great day/weekend" to the operators of the buses and trains. They genuinely seem surprised when I say that, then gladly respond. So there's this lady who is driving the bus that I get on every day. She's usually cranky or scowling but since I started my routine of acknowledging her every time she sees me get on, there is a smile on her face ready to say good morning to me.

One day I was running late for the bus. As I was running down my hill, I saw my bus right at the bus stop that I should have been at, it was clear I was going to miss the bus so I stopped running in my defeat. I then noticed that the lady was looking up the hill for me because she knew I lived somewhere up there and I'm usually on time for the bus. She sat there and waited for me to come. Bus drivers usually don't do that around my area. If my luck wasn't bad enough, when I got on the bus I realized that I forgot my pass to pay. I apologized and asked her to let me off because I didn't have any cash on me, I would have to walk to the station. She responded "that's okay, you're all set", and let me ride for free.

What a blessing that was to me. I just wanted to share this with y'all to show how you can reap a blessing from the kind actions that you show (sow) towards others. There are so many people in this world who go an entire day without seeing a smile, or hearing a "thank you"  for services rendered. Now I'm not saying you should do this with the expectation that people are going to repay you by being nice to you or giving you free rides, but I do challenge you to carry the attitude of Christ wherever you are. Give yourself an attitude check, smile, say thanks and make it a daily habit. If anything it makes you feel good inside and you never know who needs that smile.

xo
Tasha

Last summer: headed to church!