Over debrief, I asked my friend, Cassy, if she would go to town with me so I could mail some things. A trip into town typically cost 20 rand a person ($2 per person) each way. It’s not a lot, BUT when you aren’t bringing in any income…it can be.Cassy wasn’t sure that she’d be able to accompany me because she also needed to make a trip to the mall. She would only be able to spring for one of those outings.
So, I want to start with the first blessing of the day. When I asked the lady of the hostel if she could take us to town and when would be a good time, she said, “I’m actually already taking some girls, so you can come along…no charge…I have errands to run anyways.”
Jaw dropped.
Blessing #1.
SO, we got dropped off at the post office/grocery store shopping center.
I wanted to send some things home. They don’t sell boxes at their post office, so I went in search of one. A woman at the grocery store was unloading apples out of a box. So I asked her if they could sell me the box. She just gave it to me…and then she helped me pack it.
Blessing #2.
This box had holes in it, so I needed to wrap it with enough tape to make it sturdy enough and seal the holes. This was my objective as I entered the post office.
That’s when I met Mrs. Betty.
She was a little old lady with short, white hair, and she said something to me in Afrikan. My puzzled look must have given me away, because she soon broke in with English, “You’re making that old box into a new one.”
I laughed and said, “I am…you think I’ll make it?”
“You look like one that will…” and then she patted me on the back and walked away.
I did succeed in the box venture, met up with Cassy, and we went to sit down outside a little café. Mrs. Betty walked down the sidewalk, and ended up stopping at the café.
She talked with us for awhile before heading inside. A little later, Cassy went inside the café to get something, and Mrs. Betty handed her two bags of dried fruit. She thought we might ‘need it for the bus ride’. (We were heading to Mozambique the following day).
Blessing #3
Then moments later, she brought us a plate upon which were two delicious, citrus-glazed cupcakes. The irony is that Cassy and I were just talking about how we’d felt bad about eating sweets…and more often than not on the Race (and probably life), sweets fall as the enemy. Well, enemy when they’re behind you, best friend when they’re right in front of you 
.
It was that moment that I felt like the Lord was like, “Kacie, I delight in giving you sweet things…you don’t have to hoard them or go out of your way to find them or be consumed by them…but let Me bless you with a taste that is sweet.”
Blessing #4
Then Mrs. Betty walked out of the café to make her way home. She stopped and hugged us and blessed us.
When she was gone, I looked at Cassy, and said, “I just feel really loved…”
Sometimes I forget the impact of love. I forget how different it can look. I forget that just being noticed by someone can mean the world.
Mrs. Betty didn’t pray for us. She didn’t share the gospel or some great message with us. She just noticed us…she was present enough to notice us.
Mrs. Betty spoke to a girl in a post office. She provided snacks for two girls going on a bus ride. And then she followed the hunch that those girls might need something sweet that day.
She might have thought nothing of it. Something tells me that that is just how Mrs. Betty lives her life there in Nelspruit, South Africa…and she lives it well.
May we remember to notice.To listen.And to heed the call.Because love is the result…and it’s breathtaking.
Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Cassy and I also made it to the mall. Upon arriving to the mall, the lady driving said, “It’s twenty rand a person each way…could someone collect that? (pause) And these two girls…(pointed at Cassy and me)…already paid. “
We hadn’t. She smiled.
Blessing #5
Crazy, right? Love this life with Him. He just takes care of ya…even beyond what we think to ask for.
