I was in the middle of writing a post to tell you all about the car that I bought last week when my doorbell rang. Oh well, you will have to wait to hear that story. I left my office and peeked out the door. You see, I normally will not open the door when I am not expecting clients nor guests during daytime hours. For whatever reason, I did and what happened after that inspired today’s motivational post to you.

I opened the door to see a woman carrying an apple and a back of books. She told me that she left a domestic violence situation today and that she would appreciate any help she could get. Instead of standing on a corner begging, she thought it would be safer to go door to door and ask people for a little help. I could barely hear her as she was sharing her story, over the loud barks of my rumbustious four legged office assistants. Apparently, neighbors of mine, many of whom also work from home, sent her on her way with fruit, granola bars, and change to help her eat later that evening. The woman said while she appreciated the kindness of people to share food from their own home, she was hoping to have enough money to eat at a place of her own choosing. I asked her where she would go if she had enough money. Her answer- McDonald’s. I asked her to hold on a second, closed the door, and prayed that I had one last blessing bag left.

What is a blessing bag?

Last year, with the help of a few friends, I went out and bought a collection of personal care items that I hand out to Atlanta’s homeless community. Last year’s bag included a toothbrush, toothbrush holder, toothpaste, tissue, mini hand sanitizer, deodorant, lip balm, a $5.00 McDonald’s gift card, and other items like a hat and hand warmers for the colder months.

You can call it luck or a God send, but I did have one more bag left. I usually keep them in my car but because I just got a new car, the very last bag was sitting in my living room waiting to go into my new car. In addition to the personal care items, I went to my pantry and added an apple and a bottled water. I then went to my linen closet and loaded her up on travel size face wash, shampoo, conditioner, and most importantly feminine hygiene products. Can you imagine not being able to afford personal care items when you are on your cycle? It took me a couple of minutes to upgrade her bag, but I knew it would be worth the wait for her. She was just hoping for a bottled water or some change…like she actually asked if I had pennies I could spare. When she saw what I put together for her, she started to tear up.

One Bag, Many Blessings

I know there are pessimists out there who would say that it was probably a con but if so, I don’t care. For whatever reason, a series of events caused me to have one last bag, be in my home office today, and actually open the door to show compassion to a total stranger. Imagine what kind of world we could live in if more people had more compassion for others. How can I, who talks constantly about empowering women not stop to help a fellow woman who is humbly asking for help?

I shared this as today’s motivational post to charge you to be a blessing and do something kind for someone else today. That could include calling someone to tell them you love them, visiting an elderly relative or neighbor, or encouraging someone who is unsure about their path. The beautiful thing about it is your options for blessing someone else are endless. I felt energized and she left feeling hopeful and I can’t think of anything more fabulous. Today’s interaction has inspired me to do another round of blessing bags. In fact, I think I will add that to my goals for next month…aka my birthday month!