Little surprises

By Jeff Becraft

Life is filled with little surprises.

Last week, I was on my way home from work and I decided to stop by a grocery store. As I go in that grocery store. who should I see in the checkout line but my wife Brenda! I went up to her in the line and kind of surprised her and then said, “Hey, how about I pick up a pizza on the way home?” She checked out and I went into the store to get what I had stopped for. So it was a nice little surprise.

The very next day, which was Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I stop by another grocery store on my way home. (OK… so I like grocery shopping…) There were a couple more items I wanted to get. I was somewhat in a rush and so I just simply pulled into the parking lot and I am not really paying attention to what space I am pulling into. But when I turn the car off and look up, what should I see in front of me but  Brenda’s car! So, two days in a row… a little surprise.

This time she’s not in the checkout line so even before I start looking for anything I came to buy, I am searching for her… going from one aisle to the next. I find her over in the coffee creamer section, in the far left side of the store. I know what she is looking for – for whatever reason, it is very hard to find mocha coffee creamer any more. She does not see me approaching and I go up to her, “Excuse me, ma’am. They don’t sell mocha coffee creamer here.” She looked up and there we were… two days in a row running into one another in a grocery store.

I commented, “Well, one place you can get the mocha creamer is at Walmart. But it is Wednesday before Thanksgiving and it is late afternoon.” There was a grocery worker unloading boxes and he chimes in as though on cue, “Oh no….” And that made us all chuckle.

We were standing there talking and we noticed in that area of the store is where the biscuits are. We rarely have biscuits but one of my favorite things (can I get a little Julie Andrews piping in here?…) is sausage gravy and biscuits. But I had never made them in my entire life. Brenda had already gotten sausage… it was time for another surprise.

So Thanksgiving morning, I got up, looked up a recipe, got a little coaching from our youngest daughter, and I made sausage gravy and biscuits. It was a nice treat and I was kind of proud of it.  (OK… I know it’s really simple but still, I was kind of proud of it.) I have enjoyed that treat every morning for a whole week.

All that started because of a little surprise. Something I wasn’t even looking for. But that set off a series of other little events that led to something that was an ongoing enjoyment.

Life is filled with little surprises. Let’s keep our eyes open and be looking for some of them today.

It’s a great day to have a great day!

Jeff Becraft is the Director of Our Place of Hope and the Director Emeritus for Youth Corps and has dedicated much of his life to helping shift the vision of people’s lives. Our Place of Hope is a paradigm shift for people living with mental illness that encourages them to regain meaning, purpose, and hope for their lives. You can connect with Jeff at  [email protected].