The "I" in Christmas

I have several favorite holidays . . .
Easter and Christmas are tied for 1st Place
Black Friday is 2nd!

I love Black Friday! I really don't know why other than it is just "fun" to see if I can indeed find the BIG bargain and be in the midst of lots of people in the Christmas Spirit.

Energy and excitement are contagious!

And that spirit was just ALL OVER Concord Mills until I made it to Bath and Body Works. Layne and I patiently waited in line on the "dots" that had been strategically placed on the floor to keep everyone in some semblance of a line.

Evidentially there were TONS of bargains as we seemed to be in line for at least 30 minutes. We were NEXT to approach the cash register and there was a very kind Bath and Body Works employee (I'm going to call her Karen just to make the rest of this easier to understand) and Karen was standing there to guide people to the next available register.

Karen was a great salesperson because if she noticed you checking out any of the products along the "waiting line" she would make some great suggestive sales. The lady behind me was asking about this bizarre looking thing - a hot pink acrylic cat with round paws. Karen explained that to her that it was a back massager. Then the lady exclaimed, "OH, you need to rub my back!"

I thought "Really? Surely not. Surely a customer at a store that has been opened since midnight is not asking the employee to rub her back."

Oh yes . . . . not only was she serious but then she continued to chat . . . "I've really had a hard morning. It's been really crowded her and I've had a lot of shopping to do. I need someone to rub my back."

I looked at the employee and then I just could not stop myself! I felt so bad for her standing there rubbing a customer's back while she herself had probably been at work already close to 9 hours. My mouth kicked in gear, "I bet you have had a hard day too."

She smiled and said, "Oh, it's not too bad" and then the lady continued lamenting about how hard it was to be shopping.

I was struck with how much we make Christmas (and life) about "I." Here's a woman working all night long rubbing someone's back because she CHOSE to engage in the recreation of shopping. And she didn't complain.

I decided this Christmas season it would be really cool if that was the attitude I possessed. If I decided that I would not complain . . . if I would be the one that would go out of my way to do something kind for someone else . . . go above and beyond.

We are calling it the "Conspiracy of Goodness" at West Campus. We gave out cards at the Mooresville Parade that were attached to candy. The card said something like "Someone has done something kind for you, now pay it forward and do something kind for someone else and pass this card along." It's a conspiracy of goodness.

Each Sunday throughout Advent we are going to give those cards to everyone in worship and then we are going to see if we can start a conspiracy. A good one! And maybe, just maybe it will cause someone somewhere to stop and take a second look at asking someone to rub their back when in fact, they need to be the one doing the offering!

Happy Shopping but most importantly . . . Merry Christmas!