Pops & Ladies at the Door

Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays.  Andrew Murray

Last week we were in Houston with some 350 other vendors selling the products we make.  If you have never experienced an event of this size I will give you a picture of what goes on behind the scenes. 

The event started on Wednesday night but we had to set up our booth on Monday and Tuesday.  The first three days you have a different colored pass to get you into the event.  One color allows you into the dock, another into the garage and another into a specific parking area. 

There are always many workers out in the lots directing eighteen wheelers, trucks, trailers and people in all directions.  The first day we drove up there was a gentleman who worked for Reliant who was manning the front gate into parking.  The first day he saw my Dad they bonded.  I think it was a God bond because he blessed us every time we drove in.  He said it made his day because my Dad was always smiling.  So every day when we drove up he would call out to my Dad, “Hey Pops, how’s it going today?”  One of my favorite things to do is watch how people are affected by how you treat them.  Every day this gentleman blessed us by letting us park close to the building.  On Sunday, Mom and Dad went to church and didn’t get to the stadium until after 1:00pm so as you can imagine there were no parking spaces available, or so we thought.  When my Dad drove in this same gentleman was at the gate and he said his usual, “Hey Pops, how’s it going today?” This same gentleman told my Dad to wait as there were clearly no empty spaces available and when that happens, you could be parked up to a mile away from the stadium.  So the attendant takes off down an aisle and talks to another parking attendant and then returns to my Dad and tells him to follow the other parking attendant.  They took my Dad over close to the building and moved some cones and let my Dad park near the building.

Another incident was at the entrance to the convention center.  We all had to wear badges or they wouldn’t allow us into the building.  There were always two employees at the entrances to check badges.  We saw these same two older ladies every day.  One of the ladies reminded me of my grandma.  She called me baby every time she saw me.  On the third day of the event my sister and I decided to take a couple of our products and put them in gift bags to take to the ladies at the entrance.  I must say that my Mom and Dad’s business is the first company I have ever worked with or for, where I have the opportunity to give something away without having to go through the chain of command.  I don’t have to go find my manager, check with my supervisor or ask the president if I can give a candle to a cancer survivor or ask if it is ok to give free product to someone in need.  You would have thought we gave these two ladies a sack of gold.  They hugged us and thanked us over and over again.  One of the ladies turned to us and said “Love will be returned to you and God bless you.”

There was a third incident that occurred with my Mom. We had a lady and her friends come into our booth and she and Mom were talking.  She told my Mom that this time last year she had suffered a stroke and could not walk or talk.  She was standing in our booth walking and talking.  That is a God miracle.  My Mom turned to her and said we are going to give you a candle and she hugged her.  The lady started crying in our booth.  She couldn’t even speak she was so overwhelmed. 

This is what it is all about.  God intends for us to touch others through Him and when we do, He is glorified.  God has blessed my parents business beyond measure and I think the reason lies in how we treat people who come to our booth. It is not about the money and how much we sell or how much inventory we move.  God can and will exceed our expectations if we will allow Him to work through us on His behalf.            

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You amaze me.  The more I see You at work in my life the more I love and adore You.  The people we meet may or may not be Christians, but we are all in need of a Savior and I pray that You will allow others to see You by the way I treat them.  If they can see a reflection of You in some small gesture I make, I praise You for that blessing.      

Scripture:   “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.”  John 13:33-36