Paying It Forward

Tonight we had something interesting happen.  Well, let me back up to tell you about our day.  It was great!  We had a productive day of school, finished all of our subjects, not too much fussing, a few chores even got done...after our day yesterday, it was almost a dream come true!  I am sure it had a lot to do with the incentive I was dangling for the younger kids.  Once a month, our local Lego store has a free monthly mini build.  Basically, you wait in line and then go in the store and build something for free.  We have participated one other time and our younger kids really enjoyed it.  So, after our great day of school, and then a quick stop to go vote, we went to the Lego store.  The kids were great, even though the line we waited in took about 30 minutes, it was fine.  Once inside, Rebekah & Benjamin finished theirs first and then helped out with Jonathan & Elizabeth.  Our rule is not to go shopping when we do a mini build.  However, Jonathan had some birthday and chore money he had been saving, so I was going to let him possibly buy something with his own money.  He immediately found a Lone Ranger set that he had been eyeing for quite some time.  He came to me, was so excited, and wanted to purchase said Lego set.  The only problem was that he did not have enough money.  With tax, he was about eleven dollars short.  So, I patiently explained to him that he would either have to earn more money or ask Santa for it :).  Needless to say, he did not like my answer.  I was firm, and so was he, but we all continued to walk around the store.  He put the set back on the shelf.  As I was talking to Rebekah explaining how we were trying to help him understand about money, a very kind lady walked up to me.  She explained that she, her husband, & 8 year old son had eavesdropped and heard our conversation with Jonathan.  She was very apologetic for eavesdropping, but said that she and her husband really wanted to do something nice, not step on my toes as a mom, but wanted to give him the balance of money that he needed to buy the Lego set.  She was very, very sweet about it.  She said she understood if we were trying to teach him a lesson about money, but that they really wanted to "pay it forward" and do this for Jonathan if I would allow it.  Wow.  I did not know what to think, say, or do in the moment.  My first instinct was to smile and politely say, "No, thank you." I wanted to teach Jonathan this lesson, of course, but at the same time, I did not want to rob this woman of a blessing, if that makes sense.  I know what it feels like to help someone, and I know what it feels like to have someone do something nice for me.   I did not know what our younger kids would think either about all of this.  I honestly had no clue what to do!  So, after a few awkward moments, I told her that I would allow her to do it, but I did want her to meet Jonathan, as well as her husband and son. 

When I took her over to Jonathan and explained what she wanted to do for him, he was excited and I could tell surprised.  He was very kind.  I had him introduce himself, as well as his brother and sisters.  We talked a few minutes together.  They were such a nice family.  It turns out that they were visiting from Pensacola, Florida.  The father and son love to do Legos together and they do not have a Lego store in their town, so they were buying some to do in their hotel room :). I was able to tell them about an app our kids use to make Lego movies, as well as tell them about  www.shatterpointentertainment.com and the Jericho movie this group of homeschoolers from our area has made. 

During our conversation, I was proud of Jonathan and the manners he used.  They went together to the register (I was there with him of course).  The employee was an older gentleman who was very kind as well.  Jonathan counted his money and then "Miss Amy" gave him the balance.  He hesitated to take it (I am glad he did), and I explained again that I had said it was okay and it was a gift.  When we were finished, I told him about how this family had "paid it forward" and done something nice for him.  And now, he needed to do something nice for someone.  He had a smile on his face while I could tell he was processing what I was saying. 

I explained to the kids on our way to the car that I kept mentioning Shatterpoint with the hopes they will go to the website, purchase the dvds, and if they are not believers, this will point them to the Bible.  If they are believers, then they will enjoy these Bible stories coming to life all the more! 

When we came home, it was so sweet to watch Jonathan share his new set with his siblings and for them to help him put it together.  It was a sweet afternoon that I will remember for quite some time.  Even though it was awkward for me to accept the gift of a stranger, I am thankful that I did.

We know that Jesus is the one who really invented "Pay it Forward."  This concept is nothing new to Him.  It was nice, however, to see total strangers doing just this for our son today.  Thank you to Amy, Philip, & Dylan for your kindness!