The Little Things

People show love in many ways. I like to tell my boys that, when I return home from an early morning workout to find the coffeepot hot and full, waiting just for me, “This is proof that Daddy loves me.” The first time I said that, they looked at me like I was crazy. But I explained it, so now the first grader is telling his carpool buddy about how Daddy makes coffee for Mommy because he loves her. My neighbor, the carpool mom, shared that little conversation with me the other day because, yeah, it’s pretty cute.

But it’s also true. Simple acts of kindness show love. Sometimes those simple things are just tiny acts among other, larger acts (like the coffee). But some situations only allow the little things. Today I got to do one of those little things. I joined my friend Sandi at the fitness center to walk/run 3.2 miles (a 5K) on the treadmill. I’m completely healthy, and it wasn’t hard. Of course, I walked most of it because I’m not in-shape enough to run even a mile. But I digress…

We walked in honor of a mutual friend named Erin who is fighting breast cancer. There were many of us across the country who participated in our own personal 5K’s today in support of this amazing person. Since we can’t be with her in person, we took pictures to celebrate. I can’t wait to see all the pictures from everyone else. We didn’t do anything great, but I know it encourages Erin to see her friends take an hour–all at the same time–to stop and say “We love you. We are so sorry you have to suffer. We admire your steadfast courage and faith and humor. We hate that this is happening to you. You are walking through a “big thing” that we can’t share immediately. But we can pray, and walk (even run!), write notes, maybe even provide a meal. And we look forward to the day you can run your own 5K :).”

And I can’t wait til the next time we sit on your front deck and share a pot of coffee again.