I thought I would ask you a question this morning. Have you ever walked into a store you’ve been shopping in forever and suddenly wondered if you’ve walked into the wrong store?That’s exactly how I felt at Dollar Tree.

And apparently, I’m going to have to start giving these stores a warning before they rearrange everything. Because yesterday, Charlie and I walked into Dollar Tree on one of our Mommy & Me Adventures.

We thought we knew exactly where we were going. We were on a mission. Earlier that morning, Gerald had asked me if I would pick up some chips for him while I was out. Easy enough.

Charlie and I were already making our morning QT run, so we stopped at Dollar Tree before we went to breakfast. We walked directly to the aisle where we thought the chips were. No chips.

We walked the entire food section. Still we couldn’t find the chips. So we started walking. We went through the food section. We checked another aisle. Then another. And another. At this point Charlie was ready to leave and go to Walmart.

Ny this time I was beginning to wonder if Dollar Tree had stopped selling chips altogether. I mean, surely they wouldn’t just remove chips from the store, would they? Finally, after walking what felt like 10 aisles but was really just four aisles multiple times, we discovered them.

Only because they had some on a endcap in front of the registers which you pass leaving the store. The chips was down that aisle over near the candy. And honestly? That actually makes sense.

But, Buttercup… GIVE A WOMAN SOME WARNING! A TEENAGER to because Charlie hates going inside stores and this is why. We did not have ten minutes to spend walking around looking for a bag of chips.

I was on a mission. And this seems to be happening everywhere lately. We walk into a store knowing where something should be, only to discover that somebody has decided to rearrange the entire place.

I don’t mind change. I just think there should be a little sign at the door that says: “Attention Shoppers: We Moved Everything. Good Luck.” Or hand them a map so they know where things has been moved to.

But we eventually found the chips and went on with our morning. Later that afternoon, I realized we still needed to pick up more chips, so I asked David if he would stop at Dollar Tree while we were out feeding our friends’ cat.

So David went inside. And he was in there longer than we expected. When he finally came back out, he explained that the store was busy. Now… I’m not saying he wasn’t telling the truth.

But Charlie and I had forgotten to warn him that Dollar Tree had moved everything. So I’m just saying… I have a feeling he might have been looking for those chips, too. And he probably wasn’t going to admit it because we all know men don’t ask for help or directions. Ever. Buttercup.

That’s okay. He found them. He found Junior’s chips and came walking out with a bag. Then he handed another bag to Charlie. Inside was a bag of Takis. And Charlie hadn’t even asked for them.

That was completely unexpected. It was just something David saw and thought Charlie would enjoy. A little gift. A little surprise. A little God wink. Then David handed me another bag.

Inside was a bag of pork skin or chicharrons as I like to call them because its fun to say. Buttercup.. And because David knows me, he knew I wasn’t going to sit down and eat an entire bag of pork skins in one sitting.

So when he brought them home, he actually put them into another bag for me so I could open and close them without letting them go stale. Now, somebody might say, “Well, that’s just putting pork skins in another bag.”

But that’s not what I see. I see someone who knows me. He knows I won’t eat the whole bag at once. He knows I’ll want them later. He thought about that before he even handed them to me.

And then came the biggest surprise. A cup. A beautiful cup with a Halloween design he thought I would like. It wasn’t Halloween. It wasn’t some big special occasion. It was just a cup. But it had a lid. And it had a straw. And David knew exactly why that mattered to me.

Even though I PREACH one #holiday at a time and it’s #Fall not #Halloween yet. But, I could put it on my desk while I’m working and not have to worry as much about knocking my drink over.

That’s not just a cup. That’s somebody thinking about me. And that’s what I want to remember about yesterday. Sometimes love doesn’t arrive in the way you expect it to. Sometimes you expect someone to bring home exactly what you asked for.

Instead, they bring you something you didn’t ask for because they thought about you while they were gone. Sometimes it’s a bag of chips. Sometimes it’s pork skins. Sometimes it’s a cup with a lid and a straw. Sometimes it’s a bag of Takis for Charlie.

None of these things are extravagant. They aren’t expensive gifts. Nobody wrapped anything. There wasn’t a birthday. There wasn’t a holiday. There wasn’t even a special occasion.

There was just a trip to Dollar Tree. And somewhere between looking for chips and walking around a store that had been rearranged, David thought: “She would like this.” And then he thought: “Charlie would like this.” That’s love.

It’s easy to recognize love when somebody makes a grand gesture. But I’ve learned that some of the sweetest love comes in the smallest packages. A snack. A drink. A cup. A bag placed in your hand. A little something picked up because someone remembered what you like. Those are the things that can make an ordinary day feel special.

So yes, Dollar Tree moved the chips. Yes, I wasted ten minutes walking around looking for something that should have been right where I expected it. And yes, I’m still going to complain about that because…

Buttercup, I was on a mission! But it was also a God wink moment because it gave me time with Charlie I might not have had otherwise. Thank you, Dollar Tree for moving the Chips and making us look for them.

Maybe the store rearranging everything wasn’t the most important part of the story. Maybe the important part was what happened afterward. Because yesterday reminded me that love doesn’t always have to be what you expect.

Sometimes love is an unexpected bag of chips. Sometimes it’s pork skins put into a fresh bag because somebody knows you won’t eat them all at once. Sometimes it’s a cup with a lid because somebody knows you work at a desk and might knock your drink over.

Sometimes it’s Takis for a son who didn’t even ask for them. Sometimes the little things aren’t little at all. Sometimes they’re God’s little reminders that we’re loved. And yesterday, love walked out of Dollar Tree carrying a couple of bags.

Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed.

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates