Last Wednesday as I was driving to a lunch appointment, I started thinking about my Mom and Dad in Cullman, Alabama.  We had originally planned to be at their house for Thanksgiving, but opted to wait and make the trip after Christmas when we will have more time to spend with them.  My sister Karen and her family from Louisiana decided to delay their trip as well so that we could all be there at the same time.  This meant that our parents were going to be “home alone” for the holiday.  Both Mom and Dad have been in poor health lately, with Mom just recently returning home from a stay in a rehabilitation facility where she was recovering from a severely broken arm.  I knew that neither one of them was going to feel like preparing much food.  What could I do this late in the game to make sure that they had a nice Thanksgiving dinner?

I called directory assistance and had them connect me to the Cullman Chamber of Commerce.  A pleasant young lady answered the call, and I explained my family’s situation to her.  I asked if she knew of any restaurants that were going to be open on Thanksgiving Day and if any of them delivered meals.  She told me that practically everything in town would be closed on Thursday.  However, she knew of one place that could possibly be of assistance, and she gave me the phone number for Truffles.

Truffles turned out to be a catering business located in downtown Cullman.  I shared with Amy, one of the co-owners, what I was wanting to do.  As I expected, Truffles was going to be closed on Thursday, but, since they did make deliveries, I asked Amy if there was any way that she could get some food over to Mom and Dad’s house that afternoon so that they could eat it the next day.  I told her that anything she had on hand would be fine.  Amy hesitated a couple of times during the conversation which led me to sense that it was going to be difficult for her to do.  I told her that I completely understood if it wasn’t going to be workable on such short notice.

What Amy said next blew me away!  I’m paraphrasing here, but she basically said, “No, I’m hesitating because I’m trying to think of a way that I can make this work for tomorrow.  The business is closed on Thursday, but I am going to be cooking for my family anyway, and I really want to make this special for your Mom and Dad.  I would like to deliver a couple of meals to them from what I am preparing for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner.”  I could hardly believe what she was proposing to do.  As they say Down South, this lady “didn’t know me from Adam’s house cat!”  She didn’t know my parents.  It was Thanksgiving Day, a day off from her demanding job, and a day to spend with her family.  Yet, she was concerned about making it a special day for my family.  This was way “above and beyond.”  This was “second mile” service for the good and blessing of others.

Dad called me about 2:30 on Thursday afternoon to tell me that Amy had just delivered turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and pumpkin pie.  They were just getting ready to dig in.

Thank you, Lord, for people with servant hearts and a love for strangers!  

Thank you, Amy, for going the extra mile in order to bless my family on Thanksgiving! 

P.S.  If you live in the Cullman area and are in need of catering services, I would highly recommend a place called Truffles.