I have a friend. She is a nurse. She has been coming to Burkina every January for the past 11 years! Some years back she handed me an envelope as she headed toward the plane. As she hugged my neck she whispered in my ear, “This is for you. Only you. Do something fun with it. I mean it. This is for you!”

Wow. Had I been in the U.S. I may have had my nails done! Or my hair styled. Or had a pedicure. Or gone to a restaurant for some salmon! Dilemma….did I really need anything? Was there really something I wanted but would never consider spending money on? YUP! I went to the grocery store and headed directly to the laundry aisle. I stood. And looked. And compared prices. And opened bottles to sniff fragrances. As I headed to the check-out line I was almost excited at the thought of my next laundry day. In the basket…liquid fabric softener! The sweet scent, soft clothing and eternal memory changed my shopping list to this day. There are now other things I have placed on the “do not need list” to be sure I can purchase fabric softener.

It can be the little things. The smell of flowers or fruit or fresh summer on a pillow case or table runner that takes a ho-hum day and turns it into a day of thanking our Lord for forever friends.