I had no intention of sharing this story but when God shows up and shows out, I have to share. As I sit at my dining room table tonight and write this, I’m still in awe. God is so good. All the time.
The past week has been action-packed and left me with hardly any down time to do “normal” stuff. Especially today. Today would have been the boys’ daddy’s 50th birthday. And their mama OF THE YEAR completely forgot to order a new cemetery arrangement. Yep, that’s me.
So, the boys and I decided to take the flower fund money and do some NOT so random acts of kindness. We wrote up a message and placed them in envelopes. The message read:
When we were about your child(ren)’s age, our daddy died. Our daddy was a very special man that lived us dearly. He loved to hunt, fish, and work on cars. He taught us about Jesus and how to love others.
Today would have been his 50th Birthday. My brother and I would like to honor his legacy by paying for your meal. All that we ask is that you hug your kid(s) a little tighter tonight and tell them how much you love them.
God Bless You,
Chase and Hunter
Our first stop was going to be a favorite place of ours, Punky’s Dairy Bar and Grill(if you live in our area you have to try them out!). Our plan was to eat ice cream and just random pick family’s that had men and small children around the age the boys were when they lost him. Things got off to a rocky start. The first family that Chase tried to hand an envelope to refused to accept it. The guy that refused it later struck up a conversation. A little while later, a local lawyer came in with his little girl. Bingo! He opened his letter and with wet eyes, agreed to accept it. See…. lawyers do have hearts!! No other children were in sight, so we decided to head to the next stop. When we went to pay our bill and the lawyers, someone had paid OURS! Presumably the guy that refused to accept the envelope! Not only did he have a change of heart…. the blessing ricocheted.
Our second stop was Pizza Inn. In that entire restaurant, there was only one family that had 2 small children. And it was a big family. But because we had the extra money from Punky’s, we decided to go ahead and bless that table. Hunter hands the envelope to a gentleman who reads it and simply passes it to another man at the table. Hunter walks away only for us to be called back to the table. The man is crying. The man tells us that today is his birthday. Get this… HIS 50th Birthday! And he is there celebrating with his family. He gets up and hugs us in the tightest, most heartfelt way. It felt good. We were able to bless that family and it felt so good! God lined all that up! What were the chances of this even being possible?
With a little more money left, we were able to hit 2 more restaurants. All in all, Joseph’s birthday legacy fed 18 people tonight. I’m convinced it was all God’s doing.
I pray that everyone of them followed the one request to go home and hug their kid a little tighter and tell them how much they love them. If I had 30 seconds with Joseph now, I would simply say “Thank you for loving your boys”.
This past weekend, I had the privilege to stay with my dad overnight while he was hospitalized. He made sure to tell me that he loved me. My boys only had 7 and 9 years of hugging and loving on their daddy compared to my 47. I thank God daily for the strong legacy he left behind.
If you’re reading this tonight and have a child or a father, I encourage you to tell them how much you love them, and how special they are.
It’s a priceless gift.
Until next time,
The Beancounter
Praying With My Eyes Wide Open 
The Lord brought your blog post to me. I am one of the family members that you blessed that night at Pizza Inn. I wanted to give you a little background on us. The man your son handed the letter to, is my brother in law. My brother in law handed the letter to my father (who turned 50 that day). All the kids and most of the adults there that night (8) total are my fathers children. But you see there is more to our story. My father couldn’t have kids of his own, so he and his wife adopted 5 children from different walks of life. I am the oldest of those children. I was 18 at the time of my adoption. Recently our mother (adopted) began dabbling in drugs that eventually led to cheating on my father and abandoning her adopted children. The last two months have been very rocky for our family because our parents are in a divorce now. The kids are spread thin and we rarely get to see each other as much as we would like to. So that night was more than just a 50th birthday celebration, it was a man who had all his God given kids with him and laughs that would follow. My father has never been one to express his beliefs, actually it wasn’t till recently that he started attending church. Your not so random act of kindness was a way of the Lord telling us that there are still people out there who love you irregardless of what you are going through. I think you were meant to not do the flowers this year and to touch the lives of people you didn’t even know. I am thankful for you and your sons. I was sorry to hear the loss of their father and will pray for ya’ll constantly. May God Bless you and keep you.
– The sister you brought to tears with your kindness
1 John 3:18
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
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Thank you much for sharing! I love how the Lord works in all things! I’m so sorry that your family is going through this storm and we will be praying for you. It was no accident that the Lord chose your family that night. But my boys and I walked away blessed beyond measure.
I also hope that you’ll look me up on Facebook. Kim Blackmon Dennis. I have the privilege to be a part of a group called Chainbreakers that meets every Tuesday night. It’s an addiction ministry for those that are affected by addiction… directly or indirectly.
I will be praying for all of you. And especially for your mother as she battles an addiction that you guys are suffering the consequences of. It warms my heart to know tht your dad has sought comfort in the only One that can give it to him!
God bless each of you.
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