Who Doesn't Like to Be Booed?

Last night, I came home late in the evening from my Bible study. There greeting me at the door was a wonderful surprise. A cute, little pumpkin filled with assorted candy, gum and special treats. I was like a kid in a candy shop. I love surprises! I really do. I unlocked the door, dragged my sleeping husband off the couch to take a picture. I then pulled out the note that read:

Who doesn't like to be BOOED? I rummaged through the package looking at all the carefully selected treats and then I realized, "Wait, this isn't for me! Its for the kids." So, I tucked the gift away from finding to reenact the surprise for my children the next morning.


This morning, my alarm sounded at 6:30 AM, and with ease, I jumped out of bed. In great anticipation, I placed the surprise back out on the porch and headed to my kid's rooms to wake them up. One by one, "Its time to get up. I have a surprise for you. Get dressed, get ready, and I'll show you." There was a buzz of excitement brewing through our household this morning, and it was an instant shot of motivation for the early morning rise.


By 7:15 AM, all five were ready and waiting by the front door. Guesses of a new car, vacation, even Grandpa being home early from Africa were offered. I like that my kids think big! The best way I knew to surprise them was having them all close their eyes and count One, Two, THREE….Open!

They screamed in delight. Ethan, our oldest, read the letter to the group, and then I shared the best news of all.  Not only do we get to enjoy all these treats, but we get to BOO someone else. I told them my plan, and their smiles widened.

Who doesn't like to be BOOED!?  I thought about that and took me back to my childhood days when I had a terrible accident on my bike. It was September of 1983, and I was six years old. We were living in Springfield, Virginia at the time at 6777 Turlock Drive. Our house was a butter cream ranch with a walk out basement that lead to a gated backyard. Many great memories of playing on the swing set and the mini playhouse which was once transformed into a snack bar for our neighborhood circus. Those were the days!

Turlock Drive was a steep road that emptied out to a culdesac at the end. Our house was at the perfect start point to ride your bike allowing gravity and momentum to push you to swift speeds requiring very little peddling. I know because I tried it, and one day momentum was not my friend. As I got about half way down the road, I noticed a car pulling out of the driveway ahead. Needing to slow down quickly, I slammed on the brakes of my banana seat bike and went head first over the handle boards. Ouch!!  It was not a pretty site. I landed face first and ended up looking pretty beat up with a large goose egg on the right temple of my forehead and huge scrap down the front of my nose.

 

Thankfully, there were no serious injuries, but kids were pretty cruel at school because I remember being teased saying I had chocolate all over my face. God, however, had a way of bringing some joy to my life during this time. Thirty years later, I can still remember my Mom calling me upstairs. "Carolyn, come here." I met her at the front door where I was instructed to look outside on the porch. There sat a special gift package filled with stickers, pencils, erasers and candy just for me! Oh how my heart danced with glee as a thoughtful neighbor had surprised me. It truly brightened my day, the season, and its funny how all these years later, I can still feel that joyous memory.

So, who doesn't like to be Booed? Everyone needs encouragement in their life, and as I look at how a thoughtful gift, a friend lunch, a needed hug, a welcoming smile, an encouraging word, a favorite Starbuck drink delivered or a pay it forward at the drive-thru can make such an impact on an encouragement deprived society.

Let's boo the socks of each other. Lets be people that are constantly looking for ways to encourage others. So, many times, we wish that it was us being booed, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I do believe the greatest joy comes when we seek out to bless others.

Proverbs 11:25 tells us "A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed." Let's take the BOO challenge. Ask God today who you can encourage and how you should do it. Because after all, "Who doesn't like to be Booed?"