Right Place, Right Time

On the Saturday before Christmas last year, I helped to staffthe Clothes Closet our church operates. The clients who usually comemust have been too busy doing errands and everything else, too, becausefor most of the morning, no one came. That was okay. The other staffperson and I decided to go ahead and close up.

We were heading to our cars to go home when a woman drove up. Iwas a little afraid my co-worker wouldn't be wild about the idea ofgoing back and opening it up again; we were both tired from standingaround waiting; both busy with our agendas of things we needed to do yetat home.

But my co-worker gladly agreed that we should open the ClothesCloset back up, and the woman came in. She was very happy, telling usthat she couldn't come on Wednesday nights when we were also open,because she works evenings. She wanted to get some sweaters - for herselfor for gifts - I'm not sure, but I do know that if she had been just aminute or two later, we would have been gone. She would have missed it,and we would have, too.

Well, I thought she was leaving the nursing home on Sunday to goto this home for Christmas Eve, but my daughter and I stopped by thenursing home around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, to take her the presents forthe children. There she sat on the bed, all packed and ready to go away.She had gotten confused, and gotten ready for her ride a day early. Shethought she would just make do for presents with a few little thingsthat had been given to her while she was in the nursing home. When thefamily found out she was ready and waiting, they did pick her up a dayearly. So we got there just in time: she could go to her Christmasdinner party with her gifts in tow, just like she wanted.

But there was an hispanic man trying in vain to figure out themachine. He couldn't tell that the machine was sold out of most of thestamps. He had already put in 50 cents, and couldn't get it back withoutmaking a purchase. I asked him if he spoke English. He said no. Using myhalting Spanish, I tried to explain that most of the stamps were soldout, and helped him figure out which stamps he could use.

If someone who wasn't able to talk Spanish hadn't come along, I'don't know what he would have done. He probably would have just figuredthings out the best he could.

I tell all of these stories not, in any way, to glorify anythingI did in these little moments. They were moments when I felt like atleast I had been in the right place at the right time, and maybebrightened someone else's day a little bit.

This Christmas, be on the watch for how you possibly will be inthe right place at the right time for someone else. In this way you'llkeep the spirit of Christmas glowing in your life, in honor of The Onewho came to earth exactly at the right place, the right time.

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Contributed by Melodie Davis from her weekly columnANOTHER WAY (http://www.thirdway.com/aw/).For information on using Another Way in a local newspaper, contact:ANOTHER WAY, 1251 Virginia Ave., Harrisonburg, VA 22801-2497; or call1-800-999-3534; fax at 540-434-5556; or email me at:Melodie@mennomedia.org