Something that's been on my mind lately... service. Service service service. It all started last Sunday when my best friend left for her mission and her topic was "Missionary Work" but what I got out of it most is service. This has been a constant thing in my head. I guess it's something that I need to do better at, helping those around me. There's just one personal experience that I can't shake from my thoughts.
Story time: I was up at BYU-Idaho and was getting ready to fly home. {I can't remember if it was home or a family vacay that I was leaving for} but that's not the point... I had decided that I was going to head to the local Deseret Book for a good read on the plane ride. I had nothing in mind, I just wanted something uplifting and entertaining. When I got in the store I kept asking the employee about what she may suggest to take on this trip. She led me to a few isles, pointing at things that may grab my interest. Soon enough, we wound up at the front of the store where the "best sellers" were placed. The employee turned to me and pointed out the window, where the parking lot was. For a split second I was nervous to look thinking it was maybe a burglary that was taking place in my car. There were several cars parked, one being my cute, red volkswagen bug. She didn't know that the bug was mine but just wanted me to see what was going on in the parking lot. As I looked out the window, I saw an old man like really old man. He was in his Sunday best {even though it wasn't sunday} with suspenders and a hat. I'm talking the old man that you will smile when you see because he's just so cute! But that's besides the point, this man was cleaning my dirty windshield. I'm not talking just spray spray swipe swipe. Like, this man was doing a really neat job. The whole time, with a smile. The employee began to smile as well and realized what a sweet gesture this was, I began to tell her that this was my car. We both got all giddy at this sweet service that he had performed. A few minutes later, I was back looking at books.. still amazed at the kind service. After thinking, I decided that I needed to go thank him. Before I had the time to turn around and do so, I heard an old mans voice behind me talking to the employee. With a very excited voice he said to the employee, "Thank you for letting me use this Windex, that windshield was just so dirty. I'm so excited to see that person's face!" The employee didn't say anything to me about how it was my car and I kept quiet. Before I had the opportunity to thank the old man, I turned around and he was gone. I began thinking in my head; this man wants this service to be anonymous. How cool is that? He doesn't care to get a thank you, but he would love to see that person's face.
Little does this man know, he changed my outlook on service for the better. I remember driving home to get my luggage that day with a big HUGE smile on my face. I couldn't believe at the sincerity of this old man. Not only was he helping those around him but he was OLD, how does he have the energy to do something like this? I will be forever grateful for this man. I don't know his name, I don't know his history. At the end of the day, he was looking for ways to serve others no matter his circumstances. Now, I'm not sure why this story won't get out of my head these last couple of days but maybe there's someone that I need to help in the near future. Maybe big, or small. I hope that I can be better in this department because I always have room for improvement. So the moral of the story, you never know who you're going to make smile, or even make a huge impact on them like this old man did.
xoxo, the Harrison's
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