Starting Over

My beautician's fiancé has a couple of houses that he rents out.  He always does a 30-day inspection after he rents to someone new and he made one the other day.  The woman welcomed him in and said immediately, "I apologize that we don't have a lot of things yet.  We're starting over."

There was one mattress in the master bedroom, none in the children's rooms.  There was not one dresser for clothing.  The house was clean enough but it was obvious that this lady was going through hard times.

When we talked some more about the situation, my beautician and I agreed that it would be wonderful to offer a Christmas gift to the renters of the two houses -- gift cards for Giant Eagle.  That way they would be sure to get some food for the holidays coming and their children would also benefit.

That sentence the woman used, "We're starting over," has a ring to it, doesn't it?  The deal from God is, we have a chance to start over every single day.

We watched a movie the other night about a woman who was touched by magic in the middle of a crowded department store in New York.  As a result of the spell that was cast upon her, she had to relive the same day over and over again.  She had to start over.

In fact, she had to start over 12 times, like the 12 days of Christmas song.

The movie was corny (we watch a lot of them, it would seem) but it had a message to offer.  The final time she had to go through the day again, she had managed to help the main characters that she encountered over and over again.  Her list included a fellow shopper who came to her aid, a neighbor who baked cakes to cover over her loneliness, a woman whose boyfriend kept making her the same gift every Christmas, her parents, her old boyfriend she had started out to win back, and a blind date that she had initially and unceremoniously dumped.  She kept learning from her mistakes and making improvements..

She started over just like we can.  We can have more patience, more kindness and show more love.  The more you give, the more that comes back to you.  The more you think about others and pray for them, the less you concentrate on yourself and your own problems.

So I hope that the renter's "starting over" is just a first step in a wonderful magical time of her finding all of those things that endure. 

Last year my beautician gave one of the renters a candle -- she cried.  I think there will be some tears this year when they receive the gift cards!! 

Thank you God for being so patient with us as we "start over."