Some days I have the luxury of curbside service, when my husband drops me off at the front door of The Children's Hospital. I get to spend a few extra minutes with him, and then I have only a few short steps to the front door of the atrium, which is warm and welcoming. It's a great way to begin my workday. Those are the best days. Especially on the cold days.
But other days, we have to drive seperately to work due to our schedules. On those days, I park in the employee parking garage about a mile from the hospital. Then, I wait for the employee shuttle to transfer me to the hospital. Some days, that means waiting outside for 5, 10, even 15 minutes. Those are not the best mornings. Especially on cold mornings.
Today was one of those mornings. I was scrambling to make it to work on time, and traffic was especially slow. And it was cold. Really cold.
But much to my surprise, when I walked out to my usual waiting spot, the employee shuttle was already waiting, as if it were there only for my personal service. I was the lone rider, so it was just the bus driver and me.
As I got on the bus, she greeted me with a smile and immediately began apologizing for the cold seats, as the bus hadn't warmed up quite yet. She was shivering as she drove, and mentioned how she couldn't believe people sometimes leave their gloves on the bus. She said she always turns them in to lost and found, but she sometimes contemplated whether to keep them for herself. She continued to apologize profusely that it wasn't warmer where I sat.
Offer her your gloves.
It was almost as if it had been spoken out loud, but I knew it was a voice in my heart that only I could hear.
What gloves?! I silently asked God.
Look in your bag. You have gloves in there. Offer them to her.
So, I looked in my bag, and sure enough, there they were. But these weren't just any gloves. These were GLOVES. These were $70 running gloves with special grips on the finger pads so that I could use my phone while wearing them. They were a gift from my husband one Christmas, and they had been worn for many miles of long, cold, runs.
Oh, no. Surely you didn't mean THESE?! I almost laughed to myself.
Yes. Those are the ones. Offer her your gloves.
For the entire bus ride, I had an internal struggle with God, reminding Him that JJ and I were about to start training for a big race, and that I would need them on our next cold run. Maybe I could buy some less expensive and more practical gloves for the bus driver and bring them to her another morning...
But, as I stood to exit the bus, gloves in hand, my heart was pounding and I knew what I had to do. Besides, they were just gloves after all.
"Here, I have some gloves in my bag for you. I know it's really cold today, and I don't want you to freeze all morning," I offered as I held them out to her.
She was almost speechless. Her face lit up with the biggest smile, and she almost looked as if she might cry.
"Oh my gosh." She said. "Thank you SO much. Wow. But you should keep them, I really will be okay. But thank you. Oh my gosh!"
As I lingered for a moment to make sure, she assured me she would be okay and that I should keep them. But as I walked away, I could hear the sweetest sound of laughter coming from that bus. She was in disbelief that anyone would offer her their own gloves. Especially those gloves.
See. That's what she needed today. She needed to know that someone would care about her even enough to offer her their own gloves. And you...you needed to practice listening, letting go, and trusting Me.
Thank you, Lord, for caring about the little things and making big lessons out of them.
Because in the end, it wasn't even about the gloves at all.
But other days, we have to drive seperately to work due to our schedules. On those days, I park in the employee parking garage about a mile from the hospital. Then, I wait for the employee shuttle to transfer me to the hospital. Some days, that means waiting outside for 5, 10, even 15 minutes. Those are not the best mornings. Especially on cold mornings.
Today was one of those mornings. I was scrambling to make it to work on time, and traffic was especially slow. And it was cold. Really cold.
But much to my surprise, when I walked out to my usual waiting spot, the employee shuttle was already waiting, as if it were there only for my personal service. I was the lone rider, so it was just the bus driver and me.
As I got on the bus, she greeted me with a smile and immediately began apologizing for the cold seats, as the bus hadn't warmed up quite yet. She was shivering as she drove, and mentioned how she couldn't believe people sometimes leave their gloves on the bus. She said she always turns them in to lost and found, but she sometimes contemplated whether to keep them for herself. She continued to apologize profusely that it wasn't warmer where I sat.
Offer her your gloves.
It was almost as if it had been spoken out loud, but I knew it was a voice in my heart that only I could hear.
What gloves?! I silently asked God.
Look in your bag. You have gloves in there. Offer them to her.
So, I looked in my bag, and sure enough, there they were. But these weren't just any gloves. These were GLOVES. These were $70 running gloves with special grips on the finger pads so that I could use my phone while wearing them. They were a gift from my husband one Christmas, and they had been worn for many miles of long, cold, runs.
Oh, no. Surely you didn't mean THESE?! I almost laughed to myself.
Yes. Those are the ones. Offer her your gloves.
For the entire bus ride, I had an internal struggle with God, reminding Him that JJ and I were about to start training for a big race, and that I would need them on our next cold run. Maybe I could buy some less expensive and more practical gloves for the bus driver and bring them to her another morning...
But, as I stood to exit the bus, gloves in hand, my heart was pounding and I knew what I had to do. Besides, they were just gloves after all.
"Here, I have some gloves in my bag for you. I know it's really cold today, and I don't want you to freeze all morning," I offered as I held them out to her.
She was almost speechless. Her face lit up with the biggest smile, and she almost looked as if she might cry.
"Oh my gosh." She said. "Thank you SO much. Wow. But you should keep them, I really will be okay. But thank you. Oh my gosh!"
As I lingered for a moment to make sure, she assured me she would be okay and that I should keep them. But as I walked away, I could hear the sweetest sound of laughter coming from that bus. She was in disbelief that anyone would offer her their own gloves. Especially those gloves.
See. That's what she needed today. She needed to know that someone would care about her even enough to offer her their own gloves. And you...you needed to practice listening, letting go, and trusting Me.
Thank you, Lord, for caring about the little things and making big lessons out of them.
Because in the end, it wasn't even about the gloves at all.
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