Becoming A Person Who Lives Generously

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See more on giving on a budget over HERE, and be patient with me . . . this one's a long one! If you're here for just the deals, scoot on down to the next penny pinched post. 

Earlier this week I ran to Target to pick up just a few deals. 😉 I then went back to another store in town to grab one more set of bargains, and was on that giddy-crazy-coupon-high that left me in a penny-pinching-stupor.

So, as always, my way-too-excited-happy-saving-self had to tell the cashier how awesome the deal was, and remind her to hurry on over and grab some too. She replied “yeah, but I can't until Friday (~payday~) . . . and it'll all be gone by then.”

Hmph.

What I did wrong (really, really wrong), is I didn't even think to just give her one of my $5 Target gift cards so that she could go do the crazy good deal too. You see, I just wasn't thinking, yet it hurt my heart that her budget was so tight and she wouldn't be stocking up like I was. And seriously? I'd just grabbed at least $30 in P&G products for free (or very close to free) at Target . . . handing her that $5 gift card really was the thing to do ~ yet I totally (completely!) missed my opportunity.

Ugh.

I drove home so stinkin' mad at myself for not even thinking to give her that gift card before leaving the store. And vowed to do better next time. Thankfully God usually gives us a next time, doesn't He?  Here's what happened next:

I ran to Kroger yesterday to pick up a slew of $.09 candy bars (24 to be exact . . . I promise, there were hundreds there and no shelf clearing in site!)  I was grabbing them to surprise my nieces and nephews for exam week at college, but clearly 24 was more than they would need.

As I walked out, I saw a mom, expecting her third little one, with two sobbing children in her cart. (Bless her heart, I can't even imagine how she's going to make it to the store with three tiny ones under three and under in just a few months!) She was at the customer service desk apparently needing some assistance while on the phone trying to straighten something out, when I remembered that opportunities for us couponers always exist.

I stopped, asked if her little ones could have some M&Ms, and got rid of two of those bags of candy. (Just 22 more to go!) Now I know, I know, little ones that age may not need M&Ms, but sometimes a momma just needs a moment of peace. And, sometimes chocolate just makes life more bearable, you know?

I have no doubt that she wondered who on earth the crazy lady with 24 bags of M&Ms in bag was, and why I was passing out M&Ms. (I'm hoping she didn't think I was nuts, but I'm pretty sure she did!) And, bless her heart, when that sugar rush got to those babies she may have wanted to ring my neck. (I hope not though!)

But maybe, just maybe it gave her hope that she mattered to someone (because every momma matters!!!) Know what it did for me?

It slowed me down.

It reminded me that there was more to this world than a website that crashes three times in three hours. (Seriously, I'd spent the entire day yesterday consumed with that mess and felt completely overwhelmed by something that really didn't matter all that much.)

It helped me remember the crazy abundance that I have thanks to a little penny pinching.

And it got me focused on someone who mattered so much more than I did at that moment. Seriously a good thing.

I really want to become a person who notices others a lot more often, and myself a whole lot less. And maybe I can choose to live my life just a little more generously.