She Gave Me Butter

I watched closely as the tiny caterpillar made its way across my placemat at the table.  Its red body initiated the movement, rippling from the very end all the way to its jet-black head.  The caterpillar couldn't have been any longer than the diameter of a penny.  I'm really not sure how long I watched it for... but it must have been at least 10 minutes.  I observed as he explored the area in front of me, and continued to watch as he slowly, yet determinedly made his way across the table to pay a visit to one of my colleagues.  I was mesmerized.  Without warning, I was pulled from my hypnotic state-- the meeting I was in was drawing to a close!  After packing up my things, I bid farewell to those in attendance.  I assumed it was a good time for me to leave.

"Rachel!"  I turned to make eye-contact with Dr. Susan-- a beloved woman by all, and the CEO of Rising Star Outreach of India.  "Are you in a hurry?"

"Oh... no, I'm not.  Can I help you with anything?"  I inquired.

"Please, can you come with me to my office?"

"Yes, of course!"

As we walked down the hallways of the school, she kindly greeted each student we passed.  Each of them responded to her with the utmost respect.  Despite the cheerful interactions happening around me, my mind was racing and a million miles per hour.  I was considering all the possible things might want to speak with me about-- most of them being made up negative scenarios.  I wanted to brace myself for the worst!  We neared her office, and I started to catch on to my pessimistic thought process... but I couldn't let it go!  I wanted to be prepared for whatever was coming.

Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.

We walked into her office, and she gracefully made her way to a bag sitting on the floor by her desk.  There was no invitation to sit down, so I stood by the door,  curious about what she was doing.  When she turned to face me again, she held a small plastic sack in her hands.  She double checked the contents of the bag.

"I was in Chennai this morning, and I go this for you,"  she said.  I was stunned.  I still didn't know the contents of the bag, but just the fact that she had been thinking of me and had purchased something for me... I was practically speechless.  She handed me the bag.  I carefully peered inside.

Butter.

She had purchased butter for me!

Okay that may seem so simple, or even silly.  But I'll tell you the back story:  Earlier this week, I sent an email out to several team members at Rising Star Outreach of India about the food I am in need of, and butter was one of the items on the list.  I had been told in a response that I would need to schedule to trip to the store in order to purchase most of the items on the list, butter being one of them.

Let's be real... I didn't think Dr. Susan would have cared to read my list in the email-- she has way more important things to do!  But she did read it.  And she my need for butter.  So she bought me butter.

There are few things I learned from this experience today:

1.  I need to stop expecting the worst as a way to prepare myself for potentially difficult news.
2.  People are thinking of you fondly whether you know about it or not.  People care!
3.  Dr. Susan really cares deeply about everyone at Rising Star Outreach of India (enough to buy little me some butter.)
4.  Watching caterpillars is a great way to pass the time, especially in a meeting ;)  (Let's be real-- half of the meeting really didn't pertain to me at all, but it was interesting to listen in on it.)


I'm so grateful for Dr. Susan and her example.  After seeing the butter, I thanked her and gave her a hug.  I expressed how touched I was that she would think of me.  She pointed to the heavens and said "He loves you."  "He loves you too," I replied.  We hugged again, and then parted ways.

God is great.


(*The image is a painting by Ponni M. Concessao that she had at the art exhibition when I first got to India.)