"We can not help everyone, but everyone can help someone" - Ronald Reagan

Today was just an ordinary day, or so I thought.....little did I know when my day started, that by the end of the day I would have learned one of life's most profound lessons all over again.  As I reflect on the day I am reminded of the many blessings that are in my life.  I think our Father in Heaven gives us these tender mercies day after day, year after year to teach us over and over till it has sunk in so deep that we know it is true.  After work today Breck and I decided to spend some mom and daughter time having a little fun . As we were getting ready to head back home , I decided to take a "short cut" ... as I headed through a neighborhood, Breck reminded me I was going the wrong way , I of course being the stubborn driver that I am kept going getting more and more off track. We finally got to a area we were familiar with and she said "mom, lets just go eat dinner before we go home".....so off to dinner we went. Had some good laughs and chatted about life. I love that girl, she often reminds me how good life can be. I love her innocent faith and belief in what life has to offer. As we got back in the car and headed home we drove down a road that soon became sparse from the retail bling, the neighborhoods filled with homes , the busy life. We just seem to be chatting up a storm....when all of the sudden there became a quiet hush come over the car. we drove about a quarter of a mile , and just as I started to slow down to turn around she said "mom we need to go back" . I said "I know we do".....the silent hush was a quiet moment that sinks deep in your heart, when you know that you are given that moment to choose to serve, or not to serve. Ronald Reagan said, "we can not help everyone, but everyone can help someone" . Along that empty stretch of road, walked an old man, tattered and torn... a little worse for wear...a little broken, but a spirit that would soon fill our lives with gratitude for the blessings that are ours. I asked him were he was headed...he said "home". I said "It's hot out here, what do you say we take you home?" . He stood at the window and gave me a soft punch to my arm and said "Red, That would be great...I'm tired and I'm hot". As he got in to the back seat, a man pulled directly in front of me and walked up to the window and handed him a jug of water, and then said to me "God bless you for what you do". The old guy "Gary" leaned forward and patted me on the shoulder and said "he will you know". ( made me cry...but what doesn't make me cry these days:) We drove about 4 miles down the road as he directed us where to go, and soon on to a dirt road that lead us to a storage yard / scrap yard. He told us that he lived in a trailer at the back of the property, and that he appreciated the ride home. He said he was sorry he couldn't pay us to bring him home. He was a sweet old man, that life for sure has left its mark on. He got out of the car and took his bag that had a few things he had walked down to good ol' Wal Mart to get. As he stood at my window and thanked me again, I asked "what else do you need?"  His reply was a simple "you have done enough" I said "we would like to do more, what do you need?" ....after moments of hesitation he responded, " I could really use a jar of Mayonnaise, I have tuna, I love tuna...but it gets old eating just plain tuna with no mayo...and I could use a loaf of bread...I mean I still have some, but it has some mold on it, that I don't mind cutting off, but it's just a little old" ....Those words came back to mind, "we can not help every one, but everyone can help someone."  I told him I would be back later tonight with that bread and mayo. His response "I'll be waiting for ya' ."  I think as we drove back down that dirt road we lost a million tears. We talked about  how we get caught up in our own "Pity Parties"  and that you don't have to look very far to be reminded of just how blessed we truly are. We made a few phone calls, and by the end of the night had enough food to last him for weeks. I am grateful for the good family and friend that bless my life. I am grateful that as we seek to look beyond ourselves and serve others, that in reality we find ourselves. I was taught early on to recognise the Lord's hand in all things, and to give thanks to our Father in Heaven for the blessings that he so abundantly pours down upon us. They are there, we just have to sometimes shut the world out in order to see just how truly blessed our lives really are. I am humbled by those who walk this life that are less fortunate than most. I am humbled by a loving Father in Heaven that gives us these moments to choose... to "Choose ye this day whom ye shall serve. "  I am ever so humbled by a little old man named "Gary" that has left an imprint on our lives, an imprint of life's tender mercies. I have been blessed. While some of my trials have kept me on my knees in prayer for months, they have also refined me in ways that I could not have done on my own. I know that it is through the service that we lend to our fellow man that our lives are blessed. With out a doubt, I truly do have a "WONDERFUL LIFE."