I wanted to share a little story with you that I overheard the other day. But before I do that I want to state that this is not meant to be a political post. I don’t care what your views are, I don’t care if you do or don’t have the shot. I don’t care if you love Trump or believe in Jesus. This is my blog and something I wanted to share. So read on. Or don’t. But I kinda really hope you do.

A few weeks back I had to make a delivery to a hotel that was hosting a vaccination clinic. It was the first day that younger kids could get it and there was a steady stream of parents and children coming and going from the clinic. As expected, I saw quite a few criers coming out because they had just gotten a shot which I’m sure wasn’t the way they wanted to start their Saturday morning. I think it’s because of the criers that I noticed a little girl. She was coming up the sidewalk with her mom and was skipping and she just looked so happy and cheerful. I was walking near them and overheard their conversation which went something like this…

“Mom, I’m kinda scared but I’m also so happy”

Her mom replied, “yes this is a very joyful day, you finally get your turn”

The little girl just smiled so big and said, “Mommy, I’ve been praying for this for so long and so hard and God answered my prayers”

The two of them went in to the vaccination clinic, smiling, knowing that this was the answer to THEIR prayer. I sat in my car and just thought about that for a few minutes. And now I sit here typing this because for the past few weeks, I’ve thought about that story and that little girl so many times. For some reason, it’s on my heart and I just wanted to share it.

I’m not sure why her family chose to get her the vaccine. Maybe she, or a family member, is immunocomprimised. Maybe she wants to spend the holidays with Grandma and Grandpa without the fear of passing something to them. Maybe they did the research and it was the best option for them. Really it doesn’t matter. The point is, they prayed for that and it was an answer to their prayers.

It seems our world is all arguing about one thing or another these days. Everyone is mad about everyone else’s choices. All choices have consequences. If you choose not to get vaccinated, there are consequences. If you choose to get it, there are consequences. You have to live with your choice but you also have to be okay with someone else’s choice.

Remember back at the beginning of this?? It doesn’t seem like that long ago, yet on the other hand, it seems like this new “normal” has lasted forever. We were all in this together. We were drawing hearts on sidewalks and praying for the first responders and dropping off care packages on porches because we couldn’t get together in person. And now here we are a year later, still falling apart instead of coming together. I know everyone couldn’t wait for 2020 to be over but I don’t really like the people we’ve become in 2021. Is there hope for 2022? I pray there is. Did we waste an entire year arguing over sides when we should be thankful for what we still have? Not everyone is lucky enough to say that. Take a minute and think about that.

So while we are in the month of thanks, let’s take a minute to do just that. Let’s go in to the holiday year with a thankful heart. Let’s be those people that came together and spread love. Remember, you don’t have to agree to be respectful. And more importantly, the thing you are bashing could just be the answer to someone else’s prayer.