I'm Going To Pay It Forward

This week has been a tough one. Instead of boarding a plane Wednesday afternoon, I was sitting in a surgical waiting room while my husband had major surgery. After it was over, I decided that I wasn't going home; my place was at the hospital. Thankfully my youngest son had let me take his laptop, I had my iphone, and a good book to read. I made myself right at home and settled in for the duration of his stay.

Thursday night rolled around and it was getting close to showtime. Jimmy was resting and I was sitting there piddling around on the internet. The phone rang and it was my friend Jen calling me from Council Bluffs. She was telling me all about the crowd and where she was sitting and what was going on. Needless to say, the girl is a sweetheart! We hung up, and in a few minutes I got a text from her, just four simple words. "He's wearing the cross."

I've never been one to give Bo many gifts. I just cannot afford to take him something every time even though I would love to do it. At the Poker Run my friend Debbie and I gave him a beautiful cross necklace that Debbie had found while shopping for her niece some jewelry. I thought it was perfect for him. What is so special about it is that Debbie had a pastor friend of hers pray a prayer of protection for the person who would be wearing it. The pastor said it brought to mind a Bible verse- He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:4. Well, I got goosebumps all over. Psalm 91 is my favorite Bible passage. Just look in my Facebook profile under my favorite quote! This necklace was meant to be. When we gave it to him, Debbie told him all this and he seemed to really like it and immediately put it on.

Bo is a kind person who wears the clothes and jewelry that people give him. The fact that he wore the cross isn't really surprising. It's just that the fact that he wore it at that concert and the one the next night was touching to me since Debbie and I had planned to travel there and had to cancel because of Jimmy's illness. So when Jen called and said those few simple words, my heart was touched and I felt like even though Debbie and I didn't get to go to the shows, Bo took a little piece of us with him. Call me stupid if you want to; it just made me feel better. Sitting there in that hospital room, I felt so blessed to have a good friend like Jen. Even though I was hundreds of miles away, she made me feel like I was part of the evening.

The next night she called me again and filled me in on everything going on at the fair in Springfield, and also sent texts. Again, I felt a little bit like I was a part of it.

Joan took a lovely picture of the necklace last night and said I could use it here on this blog. Thank you! Yet another example of peeps looking after peeps, which is something Bo loves. To quote him in Suffolk, VA: "I love the way you all take care of each other."

I'm going to remember the next time that I'm at a show to call a person who wasn't able to attend and let them know I was thinking of them and include them in the festivities. It's the least I can do to "pay it forward". God bless Bo and all of the wonderful people he has brought into my life.