Sweet Treats

Okay so I heard this cute story on the radio recently that I wanted to share with all y'all. I confess, sometimes I DO listen to the Delilah show on the radio when I'm driving late at night--rarely, but it happens. Yes, I'm ashamed.

But there was this cute older lady who called in whose name was Barbara Sweet. Yep, her last name was Sweet. And after Delilah got done making tons of cheesy sappy comments about her name, this cute lady talked about how she decided one day to live up to her name. So she made a list of everyone she knows--family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, garbage man, you name it--and put everyone's names into a hat. Once a week she draws one name out of the hat and makes some sort of "sweet treat" for that person. Sometimes they're expensive and sometimes they're not. Sometimes she sends them across the country and sometimes it's just next door. But she tries to do some sort of service or make a gift that is unique and special to the specific person of the week. Through doing this she said she hopes to brighten someone's day and let them know how much she loves them.

This cute old woman's purpose for calling into the Delilah show was that she hoped that sharing her experience would somehow inspire others to have similar ideas for serving those around them. Of course Delilah added a few more cheesy comments and then the song that followed the segment was "How Sweet it is to be Loved by You" by James Taylor. GOOD song. While I probably would have made fun of that radio segment any other day, for some reason that night it touched me. I've been constantly trying to find ways to serve others around me. Sometimes it's easy because the situation slaps me in the face. But other times it's difficult to know how to reach certain people, or to come up with a way to help when you don't know their situation. It's also hard to remember to serve when it's so easy to become self-absorbed in all of life's daily demands.


But I've made it a goal this year to find more unique ways to serve on a regular basis. While these "sweet treats" aren't life changing or life saving, I want to let the people around me know how grateful I am for them. I'm hoping that by blogging about this experience I'll be reminded more frequently about my goal and I'll be more successful than just thinking, "Oh yeah, I should get started on that soon..."


I think the biggest thing to remember is that "sweet treats" don't have to be big. Usually serving others intimidates me because I think I don't have the time or the resources to launch some huge project. So friends, know that while my efforts and creative skills may not seem excessive, they are all sincere and well thought out. I hope that you all know how grateful I am for you, and hopefully you'll think of a cute, simple way you can pass the "sweet treats" you receive from life on to others.


PS--I'm also thinking that every time I get tempted to eat something yummy and way too high in calories, I'll set it aside and choose a different sweet instead--one that will brighten someone's day and keep me from eating things that hinder my healthy eating goals. But I'll let you know how that one goes...I don't know if I'm that motivated... :)