Bless Her Heart

Don’t ya love it how Papa God yanks something He’s trying to teach you right out of the background and drags it to the front and center repeatedly until He nails down that very lesson in your sluggish brain?

Ever since my new devo, Bless Your Heart, came out last fall, I’ve been focused on how many different ways the phrase plays out in real life (not counting how we Southerners sometimes weaponize it against the clueless who don’t know they’re clueless).

I totally get how Papa God blesses my heart (and yours!) through His grace notes (everyday miracles) and how we become aware of them by intentionally looking for them through wide-opened spiritual eyes.

And I am thrilled to be the recipient of a blessed heart by the thoughtful and loving actions of others.

I even understand how the phrase, “Bless your heart” is sometimes used as a kind of benediction, a verbal blessing we give to others upon parting.

But just this week I was the recipient of all three meanings at the same time and had my heart blessed by a total stranger to the point of bursting wide open.

I got in the checkout line at the Super Walmart behind a lady trying to manage a wiggling toddler. With no dividing bar available to place between our orders, I left a sizeable space between her last item and my first (which happened to be an 18-count carton of eggs).  Even so, as I was busy loading my buggy contents onto the conveyor belt, the hapless cashier haphazardly ran right through the dividing space and rang up my eggs on the other lady’s order, tallied her total, accepted her cash and counted back change into her hand. Then she bagged the eggs, handing them to the customer.

“No, wait. These aren’t mine,” the lady said, attempting to hand them back. “I don’t have enough to buy eggs this week.”

“Too late – they’re already rung up and paid for,” replied the cashier (ignoring the glaring fact that it was entirely her fault). “If you want a refund, you’ll have to go to the return desk over there.” She casually flung her hand toward a long line snaking along the front of the store.

“But I don’t have time to wait in line,” the customer said, “and I won’t have enough money to last the week if I buy these eggs.”

This is where I tuned in, noting the customer lady’s troubled expression as she turned to me. We stared at one another, neither knowing what to do while the cashier nonchalantly chomped her gum and began scanning my items.

“You’re gonna need to go get some more eggs, lady,” the cashier mumbled.

“What??!?” I could feel my inner Scrooge clawing his way up my esophagus.

“Here, take these,” said the customer, holding the carton out to me. “They were yours in the first place.”

I automatically extended my hands like you do when someone hands you something so that we were both holding the carton of eggs between us, our eyes meeting over the top. I didn’t want to take them at her expense but a logical solution eluded me.

Then suddenly it hit me. “Well, let me pay you for the eggs,” I said, lowering the carton into my cart and thrusting my hand into my purse for my wallet.

“No, that’s okay,” she said beginning to slowly push her cart away, “It was nobody’s fault. You enjoy the eggs.”

My groping fingers finally grasped my wallet in the bowels of my mega-mama purse as I followed her toward the exit door. “No, please, wait – let me pay you $5 for the eggs.” But then I noticed – I only had one bill in my wallet and it was a twenty. Nothing else. Yikes. I hate to admit it, but I hesitated a moment, tight-fisted me wondering if there was a way I could tactfully get out of this situation financially unscathed.

Nope. There was not. Papa God was teaching me to respond with grace and generosity. Whether I liked it or not.

So I handed her the twenty and smiled. And whadayaknow – in the twinkling of an eye, my outlook changed. I immediately felt gracious and generous. More like Papa God; less like Scrooge. “I don’t have a five, but please allow me to bless you with this. I really want to.”

And to my surprise, I really did.

As she tentatively reached for the unexpected blessing, her eyes welled with tears. “Oh, wow. You can’t know how much … wow. Thank you.”

Her misty brown eyes locked on mine and she gave me the very BEST benediction I’ve ever received, each word filled with warmth and meaning: “Bless. Your. Heart.”

Just like that, out of the blue, I was blessed. Truly blessed. It was a BOGO blessing at its finest; Be One, Get One. 

There were three hearts blessed that day … hers, mine, and Papa God’s. No, make that four – the gum-chomping cashier even said, “Now, that made my day!” when I returned to gather my things.

And when your heart is that kind of blessed, you want to do it again and again. Blessings beget more blessings.

So dearest BFF (Blessed Friend Forever), when have you found yourself in a situation where an unexpected blessing almost knocked you off your feet?

P.S. When you’re planning how to bless the women in your life on Mother’s Day, don’t forget the Bless Your Heart: 52 Ways to Bless My BFF (scripture cards, (only $4.99 on Amazon),  companion to the Bless Your Heart 365-day devotional (currently 25% off at Christianbook.com; CLICK the titles to order). Hey, let me know if you order at least one of each and I’ll send you two signed bookmarks, one for you and one to share. Hugs!