Thanksgiving looked a little different this year. Tom and Mary were celebrating that the major surgery was behind them. I asked if I could bring any food over and they said their daughter was fixing dinner for them, but tomorrow I could bring some mashed potatoes. (I did not say - oh, we didn’t have mashed potatoes).
Of all the things he could have wanted, it was the most humble request. So in the morning, I peeled a few potatoes, mashed and scooped them into a container and headed to his house, thinking I was just delivering comfort food and a little company.
But God had something much bigger planned.
I only stayed a few minutes—long enough to ask how the surgery went, when he’d get results, and how he was feeling. Since my husband’s going to heaven four years ago, I’ve missed my husband's hug—the kind that wraps around your whole heart. Grief leaves empty spaces that only love can fill.
What I didn’t expect was that my nephew would be the one to fill it that day.
As I prepared to leave, he said something that made me stop:
“You’ve always been there for me. Ever since I was a kid—you showed up. Your emails, your prayers, your cards, your questions, those quick stops just to pray… it all means more than you know.”
Then he stood up—still weak from surgery—and gave me the biggest, longest bear hug. A hug filled with gratitude, memory, love, and heaven’s comfort wrapped in one embrace.
I went there to give, but instead I received.
Who could have imagined that a simple bowl of mashed potatoes would be the doorway to such joy?
Sometimes purpose isn’t found in big acts or grand gestures. Sometimes it’s hidden in leftovers, in a conversation on a quiet morning, in a hug that lingers longer than expected. Sometimes God uses the smallest things to remind us that love is still alive, and that showing up still matters.
Even in grief.
Even in weakness.
Even in mashed potatoes.
Thrive on Purpose isn’t always about doing more. Sometimes it’s about bringing what you have, right where you are, and letting God turn small acts into big blessings.
That day, with a container of mashed potatoes in my hand, God reminded me:
When we show up, He shows up too.
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Walking with faith, creating change change to Be a Spark. Ignite Change. Transform Culture.