Someone egged our house.
A few years ago, a group of errant adolescents with erratic aim threw eggs at our house on a sultry, summer Saturday night. Not a fun discovery as we were leaving for church the next morning, probably running slightly late. Worship was not high on our list as we scrubbed sticky egg debris off the sidewalk, car, and house. I think we skipped church and went out to breakfast. No one ordered eggs.
Getting our house egged like that was NOT a good thing.
But…
There was another time someone egged our house.
In the middle of Easter week, when the kids were getting tired of their toys and tired of each other and tired of me saying “Go outside and play”…
So tired.
So so tired.
We were fairly new into navigating an autism diagnosis. Playdates with other moms & kids were hard for me. I had one super-social-her-first-word-was-“Hi” daughter and a son with autism who was nonverbal.
Talk about a spectrum.
I didn’t feel like we fit anywhere.
It felt like junior high all over again on steroids.
In the middle of thee afore mentioned Easter week,
(Did I mention we were tired? Just checking.)
the door bell rang.
I checked to make sure I was wearing an “undergarment”, stepped over toys and trinkets and a fair number of rogue goldfish crackers, and opened the door to an outrageous sight.
Someone egged our house.
Someone put candy in plastic eggs,
scattered them on our lawn,
rang the door bell
and drove off.
One outrageous act of kindness.
I remember feeling excited and grateful and seen and loved.
Special.
It made all the difference that week.
It made all the difference in the years to come.
As my own kids grew older, we started “egging” people’s houses too.
We enlisted friends to go with us. It was important to teach my kids and the kids in our circles of influence that kindness matters. Our son on the autism spectrum did not get a pass on planned acts of kindness.
Everyone should RECEIVE kindness, regardless of their abilities.
Everyone should GIVE kindness, regardless of their abilities.
It was an Easter tradition for a number of years.
Because I wanted other families to feel excited and grateful and seen and loved.
Special.
All from one outrageous act of kindness.
As I’m writing this, I’m wondering why I stopped.
Easter is coming.
I guess it’s not too late.
We all have Special Needs. Some of us are just better at hiding it than others.
Shine Bright.💡
What does the Lord Require?
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8