A mother and her 8 year old son came in at the end of a very exhausting day. They had been filing protective orders, setting up appointments for counseling for domestic violence, and applying for Federal and State assistance. It was clear that they both were weary and burdened. I arranged for a case worker to process their requests and began a casual conversation with them. Mom told me about their day and how hard it was. Then she said, "you know, one of the most difficult things was when at one agency there was a popcorn vending machine in the lobby. Several folks were getting some and my son asked if he could have a bag. I had to tell him no, because I did not even have enough money to buy a small bag of popcorn. The look on his face about killed me."
     After our conversation ended, I went back to the food pantry to see if someone might have donated some popcorn. Sure enough, there it was. I put the popcorn, some oil, a pan, and a couple of small bowls in with their food order.
     When the food was delivered to them, I leaned over and instructed the little boy to take a look in the box. He stood up and peeked in and pulled out the popcorn. He said, "Look Mommy! We can have popcorn tonight!" With brightened eyes and a big smile he said, "Thank you." Mom cried and expressed her thanks for our help and thoughtfulness.
     Whoever gave that popcorn will never know how much joy a simple bowl of popcorn could bring.