a lesson learned from mango

It is a beautiful thing when God can take one small act to help you realize where you have been struggling.  Sometimes it is as though we are walking along a blinded path, doing our own thing, without acknowledging His power, His grace, His love and how that should look when we live it out.  On our cruise, God definitely used one of these moments to show me where these hard crevices were forming in my heart, that needed some dusting off.  

When you're on vacation, it is easy to think about yourself.  Where are we eating at?  What time do we need to be here?  Did you save a seat for me?  Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.  And I soon realized that it wasn't just on vacation that I was thinking about myself, it was everywhere.  Almost as though people owed me.  When our boat docked in Ensenada, we originally weren't planning on getting off, but later decided we needed a good stretch and wanted our sea legs back.  So we wandered off into downtown Ensenada, where the streets are strewn with woman and children begging for money, offering to sell you chicles, fresh fish laid out at the market, vendors luring you into their pharmacy, offers for alcohol, and waitresses enticing you into each and every restaurant.  On occasion we would see some people from our cruise line.  And one family in particular was trying to take a picture with our boat in the background.  I was going to keep walking until Daniel urged me to go and offer to take their picture.  I hesitated.  I liked our path, our plan, and what we were doing.  But I offered, they accepted, they smiled so bright, and all of a sudden it was as though my heart slowly started warming up.  When did helping others all of a sudden seem so hard? 

On our way back to the boat I saw a vendor with the largest mangoes I have ever seen.  So we stopped off and I watched them artfully carve it in front of me and filled my mouth with the freshest mango I have ever had.  Soon enough I became so full.  And as we rounded a corner, a child with his little sister and mother wanted us to buy chicles from him.  We declined and he immediately pointed to my mango.  Instantly I asked him if he wanted it, he shook his head vigorously, and as I handed it to him it was as though I had just given him the greatest gift in the world.  His smile lit up the whole corner.  And it was then that God showed me the lesson I needed to learn, and re-learn over and over again.  We get so much more out of helping others, giving them what they need, then when we receive something.  It feels like a Christmas saying, but why am I not focused on it now.  My heart was filled with so much joy I felt as though I floated the entire way back to the ship.  From that moment on whenever we saw a family or couple trying to take a picture, we stopped whatever we were doing and offered to take it for them.  It never fails how appreciative they are, and how that kindness just passes from them to you.  I have lots of things to work on in my life, and right now I'm trying to find ways to help others in authentic instances, to try to meet others needs, and to think less of what I need from this world.  So, thank you mangos!