The Body.

A few nights ago, I ran through the Chick-fil-A drive-thru and grabbed a peppermint shake for a before-bedtime treat. The cold peppermint has done wonders to soothe my stomach and I couldn't wait to enjoy the frosty deliciousness after I put Cub to bed. I tucked in the Cubster and headed back out to my car to get the shake, waiting patiently in the cupholder in my center console. I reached for it and when I grasped the cup, it made the lid pop off and the shake went EVERYWHERE. Peppermint goodness sloshed all over my center console, passenger seat, and onto the floor.

I stood there, blinking, and peeked in the cup that was still in my hand.

Empty. 

The entire shake spilt.

I calmly walked to the trash can, plunked the cup down to the bottom, and walked back to my car. And then I cried. It was so stupid, really. A spilt milkshake. But in a moment my visions of relaxing with a shake had not only become shakeless but also not relaxing. It took me a while to clean up the mess. I came inside, put on comfy clothes, and promptly relayed my experience on Facebook. It was laughable and sad, all at once.

About thirty minutes later, the doorbell rang. My husband was gone, so I cautiously peeked through our guest room window to see who it could be. And I saw my old boss's truck parked in the driveway. I slowly opened the door and he stood there, smiling, with a huge peppermint shake in his hand. He said that his wife had just read my Facebook status and had given him the command to send a shake to my house. I couldn't believe it. I was actually a little embarrassed--I hadn't written the status update for pity, but more for laughs. But it was pitiful. He told me not to be embarrassed and that this is what the body of Christ does. We come to the rescue when we can, no matter how small the rescue might be. 

And, he's right.

I've had sweet friends drop off small gifts (even nausea medicine!), send notes, and shoot e-mails of encouragement this week. Totally unexpected blessings. I'm in a Bible Study right now and one of our weeks was on encouragement and what it truly means to love our neighbor. These same friends I study with are the friends who are delivering the treasures that have brightened my nauseated days. Initially, it's hard for me to accept these things. I hate to sound like I'm complaining about not feeling well--really, I understand that this is all a part of pregnancy and geesh, so many women have it worse than I do! But, I've also had to realize that it's okay to tell your friends how you're actually feeling. Transparency can be hard, but it is necessary. Some days I feel okay. But other days are honestly very, very hard. And if our friends are truly our friends, they will want us to tell them these things so they can love us in return. I know I want to know how they are feeling.

I love them and would do the same for them. In fact, one of these women is a neighbor of mine and had sickness run through her house for three weeks. Needless to say, it was wearing her out. So, I would load Cub up in his wagon and we would walk over every day to check on her. And we brought her dinner one night. Good deeds spur on good deeds, you know? And I can't wait to have the opportunity to bless these friends more as they've blessed me.

It's neat to see the body of Christ in motion. Serving others really is the biggest blessing of all!