Slice of Life: March 12 -- Being Blessed

A few days ago, I wrote about being a blessing to someone else.  I described my trip to dinner and the generous tip my husband and I left for our waiter.  I detailed how this simple act of generosity made my night.  At the end of that post, I challenged you to find ways to be a blessing to others.  I asked you to find a way to show kindness to someone, to bless someone in perhaps an unexpected way.  Sometimes it's funny how life works.  Little did I know that I would be on the receiving end of a blessing this week.

In order to understand why I feel so blessed, you need to have read yesterday's guest post on Miss Collins' blog.

Yesterday afternoon I was running around school feeling frazzled and trying to cross things off my to-do list.  It's been especially busy at school the past week and, I must admit, there have been several times I have felt frustrated and overwhelmed.  It's during these times that I begin to question my effectiveness and the impact I have on students, teachers, and staff members.  When I run around all day jumping from one activity to the next, I often feel like I'm simply putting out fires (figuratively speaking, of course) rather than making a difference.

In one of those frazzled moments I stopped at my desk to quickly check my email.  That's when I noticed an email from a teacher at the junior high with the simple subject line that read "Blog."  Curious, I sat down to read it.  Little did I know that I was just about to receive a tremendous blessing.

I honestly sat at my desk with tears in my eyes as I read the words written by Coach Womack.  Words truly cannot describe how honored I felt that she would choose to write about me.  I was shocked that she remembered those details about me from all those years ago.  I was more surprised to learn that my very first encounter with her had made such an impact on her.  I quickly wrote a reply back to Coach Womack, but it was hard to find the right words to tell her how much her post meant to me.  Thank you just didn't seem to be enough.

The funny thing is, I remember playing softball for Coach Womack.  Odd as it may be, I still have the t-shirt from when I was ten years old and played on her all-star team.  While my memory of those softball games is a little fuzzy, I definitely remember my years playing volleyball with Coach Womack on the sidelines.  The time I spent on the court -- playing with both of Coach Womack's daughters, nonetheless -- provided some of the best memories of my life.  I never knew she was responsible for helping me earn my first coaching job and I certainly never knew that I had made any impact on her life.

So today I feel honored.  I feel blessed.  I honestly feel undeserving of the compliments and attention.  Mostly, I feel thankful.  Coach Womack's words came at the precise moment I needed them.  Just like you never know when someone will enter your life and make an impact, you never know when someone's words will inspire you, motivate you, and encourage you.  I'm quite certain I spent the rest of the day with my chin held a little higher and an extra spring in my step.

Your words are powerful.  They make a difference.  They can build someone up or they can tear someone down.  How will you choose to use them?  Who will you inspire?

So thank you, Coach Womack.  Somehow those words cannot fully convey my gratitude, but please know, you made my day!