A few nights ago I heard lots of kid voices on the gravel road in front of our house which is  highly unusual.

I mean, we hear our share of frogs croaking, birds singing, and coyotes howling, but there are hardly ever kids on this dead end country road.

They came to the door with a flyer and said they were having an upcoming fish fry and pie auction at their church a few days later and were inviting people in the area to come.

We set the flyer out so we wouldn’t forget, and yesterday we ventured a mile up the highway to their church called Friendship Church.

We’d been there two or three times several years ago when we were trying on churches, so to speak, but it was so long ago that this was a new experience for us.

I’ve got to be honest here, the “how are we going to walk into a room where we don’t see anybody familiar” butterflies were making some serious racket in my stomach.

It’s kind of unnerving, you know? To walk into a place where everybody already knows everybody else. It does makes it pretty easy to pick out who is new.

But, maybe that’s a good thing because we were greeted with lots of smiles and warm welcomes. In fact, one of the ladies even recognized us from the time we were there like 5 years ago.

The kitchen was a buzz with meal preparations and after everyone was seated, chit chat filled the room.

As weird as it sounds, in a room full of virtual strangers, I was almost transported back to when I was a kid at my grandma’s Iowa farmhouse.

When we got together, the adults in our family used to sit at the kitchen table and tell stories that filled the whole house and meals with laughter.

Last night I realized that it didn’t really matter if we knew anyone or not, just being there was enough.

For the pie auction, Little Bit and the kids took turns carrying the desserts through the sanctuary to show each one to the potential bidders while the auctioneer was busy calling out the dollar amounts.

While waiting in line for his turn, Little Bit spotted something on the table that he really, really wanted:

A pie.

Ok, this is a really, really huge thing! My boy has never even eaten pie! Like ever!

So, with money in my back pocket, this momma set out to get him his first ever fruit-filled confection.

Well… I lost by $5.

After the last of the desserts sold, everyone was gathering their things and getting ready to head home.

I was standing near the pulpit when a kind gentleman I’ve never met before approached me and offered his lovely raspberry masterpiece.

What?? Me?? My response was “Let me give you some money for it,” which he refused to take.

So, there I stood, dessert in hand and a lump in my throat. Then, a sweet gal I don’t even know came up to me with her arms outstretched.

I about fell over when I looked down and saw her gift! It was the very pie that Little Bit had wanted so badly.

Seriously? Who does that? Who is soooooooo kind that they buy something and hand it over to someone else? Someone they don’t even know?

Evidently they do.

Suddenly as I started to thank her, I felt the lump in my throat make its way to my tear ducts.

With extreme gratitude about to  spill down my cheeks, the only words I could seem to muster were,

“Who cries over pies?”