Goodness Abounds

 

I went to get a pedicure last week.

Barb The Art Teacher spontaneously asked if I could go,

And I could,

So I went.

We waited a little while,

Chatting and watching some kids play.

Then we went to our massage chairs and began the pedicure.

The guy working on my toes simply said,

“One pedicure,” and started his work.

He was very thorough,

Spending a lot of time on some rogue in-grown toenails,

Talking with us occasionally,

Especially when we mentioned we were teachers.

When his wife sat down to work with Barb,

She said, “What pedicure would you like?”

Barb looked at me and asked what I was getting.

I looked at the nail technician and he looked at my feet and said,

“Your feet are in good shape. You don’t need anything but the basic pedicure.

I mean, if you want all the extra stuff, then we can do it.

But you don’t need it.

And I don’t like to assume that people want it before taking a look at their feet.”

“Wow,” I thought.

“He didn’t try to up-sell me.

He totally could have made more money on my feet.

But he didn’t.

I’m super impressed.”

 

In a society where so many people make their money on the up-sell,

It was refreshing to experience someone who put his customer first,

Simply stated what I needed,

And complimented my feet in the process.

 

As we end 2023 and begin to shift our focus to 2024,

May we hold to good moments like this,

Believe that good people still exist,

And determine to be goodness ourselves

In a world that tries to suck goodness from our being.

 

God is good.

And goodness abounds.

Oftentimes in places where we least expect it.

 

Amen.