If you're teaching and you know it clap your hands

We have a little house that is set back quite a way from the road.  In front of us is another house and we share a small portion of the driveway.  On most days (don't judge) I get the mail when I'm returning from an errand or something.  On some days I'll grab myself a handful of trail mix and trek down the driveway on foot, but admittedly that is not the norm. 

In the house in front of us there lives an elderly lady that has some dementia and she lives there with her daughter.  Nine times out of ten when she sees my van stop at the mailbox she bolts out of house and waves me down.  I stop and chat with her and she asks me the same questions day after day without fail.  Most days I happily chat with her and she truly is a very sweet lady.  There was a day not too long ago, however, that I just wasn't in the mood for the questions and I was tired and just wanted to get home.  When I got in the van I mumbled something like "oh boy, here we go."  Of course I stopped and chatted with her and then was on my way.  The exchange took all of 30 seconds. 

The next day I stopped to get the mail she started to come out, only this time it was Haylee that was mumbling "oh boy, here we go again."  You should have heard me back-peddling....or at least attempting to.  We stopped and chatted with her and I then had to have a little chat with Haylee to explain to her that my response was not very kind and was not an appropriate response. 

A few days ago when she greeted me on the way OUT of my driveway she asked me if I could pick her up a few coloring books from the dollar store.  She really enjoys coloring.  I told her that I would if I had time, but that I had a very busy day.  It was true...I had a lot of things to get done in a short amount of time and if you know me at all you know I don't handle that stress all that well!!  (understatement alert) 

I immediately felt a gentle nudge from God.  I knew without a doubt that I needed to find 5 minutes to pick her up a few coloring books.  I had Haylee with me, so I said, "Haylee, I think we should stop at the dollar store first.  Will you help me pick out some books for her?"  She was very excited.  A few minutes later she said to me "Mama, it's very nice of you to get some coloring books for her."  She humbled me.  We had a beautiful little chat about how simple acts of kindness can make a person's day very happy.  I was so thankful that I didn't miss this amazing moment to teach Haylee a little bit about kindness. 

I learned a few rather important things through this little scenerio.  The glaring lesson of course is that like it or not I am teaching all the time.  Good moments and bad....they are watching and learning. 

The other think that smacked me in the backside was that I need to be kind even when I'm not in the mood.  I call myself a Christian and I need to do my best to represent what it is I claim to believe.  I have an elderly mother who depends on others for her care.  Would I want people caring for her that were annoyed at having to do so?  Of course not.  I learned my lesson. 

I know that I have written about a similar topic not too long ago.....but if I'm being reminded of it again so soon, perhaps someone else could use a refresher too.  There are so many times that I am teaching and I don't know it.  I do know this for a fact, however.....if I'm teaching it....I'd better live it too.