It's the Little Things

My original plan was to write a little humor post about how pathetic my weekend was.  I'm usually not a humorist--or at least it's not my primary aim, but I've been told I'm a pretty funny person--so I wasn't sure if it would be all that successful.

But today--earlier this evening, actually--I ditched that idea.

When I started this blog in August of 2011, it was called "on a lighter note."  My objective was to look for the little things in life, the little things that make us smile and brighten even our darkest days.  After a while, my writing veered away from the original idea and I ended up writing about anything and everything without the "look on the bright side" aspect, thus bringing you what it is today, "A Thought and a Half."

Tonight, I'm going to revert back to my "on a lighter note" style.  When I share my story, you'll see why.

I've been sick since Friday.  Granted some days have been worse than others, but in general, I've been sick.  Yes, it sucks.  Whatever nastiness I've had ruined my weekend plans of hanging out with my friends and going to a PR banquet/luncheon (which I missed last year due to sudden sickness, too).  Friday night, I threw up almost everything in my body and slept for over 12 hours.  If you know me, you know that never happens.  My roommate briefly feared I had food poisoning, but after some reading, we discovered that I only showed one of the symptoms, so we ruled that out (thank God).

The rest of the weekend wasn't much better, but it wasn't worse.  I felt better yesterday and finally hoped I'd be back to normal by today.  Nope.  Despite catching up on my sleep and consuming obscene amounts of vitamin C, I'm still sick.  Right before midterms.

Yeah, it's fantastic.

When I finished my classes today, I made a quick Kroger trip.  I only needed a few items, so I figured it would be fast and easy.

As I turned the corner around one aisle, I bumped into a girl--we'll call her Jane--I worked with and had a class with last semester, but have only seen her a handful of times since then.  She and her friend were doing the same thing I was doing and grabbing a few essential items before closing in for the evening.  We exchanged the typical "how have you been?" and I responded with "sick and stressed," nothing short of the truth.

"Oh no," Jane said.  "What kind of sick?"

I said I wasn't sure, but I was sure I wanted it to go away.  "Sick gets old real fast the week before midterms."

Jane sighed.  "I'm sorry, Kate. May we pray for you?"

I stopped for a moment, and I'm pretty sure I cocked my head at her.  That wasn't what I was expecting to hear, but I certainly wasn't taken aback or anything.  I'm a Christian and I believe prayer is the strongest form of healing, but there was something about hearing it in that moment that took me by surprise.

"Sure," I said.  "That'd be really sweet.  Thank you."

The three of us--me, Jane, and Jane's friend--then kind of stared at each other awkwardly for a second.  Then they reached their hands out to me as if motioning for me to step closer.

"Oh, right here, now?"

"Why not?" Jane's friend said.

And so they placed their hands on each of my shoulders and prayed for me.  Right there.  In the middle of the soap and shampoo aisle at Kroger.

I don't remember Jane's exact words in her prayer, but in that moment I was incredibly touched by what she said.  I don't know her that well at all--I'm not even sure if she's a sophomore or a junior--but she and her friend took time out of their quick trip to Kroger to pray for my healing and recovery from this sickness.  They weren't even sure if I was a Christian or believed in prayer, yet they were brave and open enough to offer it to me.  That's a quality anyone can admire.

I refrained from hugging Jane and her friend because I didn't want to pass my germs to them, but I did let them know how thankful I was for their gesture.  That's the first time I've ever had that happen to me, and it was a really sweet, touching moment.

There's a verse in the Bible that I've kept with me since it was the theme verse for a mission trip I went on in high school: "For the whole law is summed up in one command: love thy neighbor as thyself" (Galatians 5:14).  Today, Jane and her friend were living embodiments of that verse.  I only hope that others--myself included--can continue to be the same way and spread the light of Christ in the lives of others.

I'm already feeling better.  I think it's something a little stronger than vitamin C.