Episode #8: The Weekly Mercies of Pam Ellis

I had been thinking about my project for the week. Since there were no customers in the bookshop at the moment, I scrolled through my shopping app and my idea list. This week, I would send a random package to someone, just because. Who did I miss the most?

Evan

The name popped into my head. I hadn’t thought about him in a couple of weeks. When I talked with Joan again, I would ask her advice about Evan. I still missed him and still wished he hadn’t moved away. But I wouldn't be sending him a package. I had received his family’s updates on the church plant, but other than that, I hadn’t heard from him.

I shook myself. I needed to stop thinking about Evan and grieving that loss. Could it even be counted as a loss if I had never had him to begin with? I needed to accept that God’s plans for me weren’t exactly what I had wanted. Why had I even let myself hope or wish for someone who had only been nice to me?

My silly heart. I liked to think of myself as practical, but I still built up hopes like a typical girl. It was enough to make me question my maturity.

Now, on to my plans. I thought over people who needed some cheering up.

Crystal and Ivy

I had only planned to do one but I knew my younger sister and my friend both not only could use a surprise. I would have fun packing two different packages.

I quickly picked a few things in my shopping cart that I thought Crystal would like and had them shipped to her house.

Between customers, I came up with things I thought my sister would like. I decided to buy a fun old film and some themed items with it. She needed some more fun things in her life. I smiled as I hit the buy button. In a couple of days, she would get a surprise package in the mail. This would be fun.

With that done, I grabbed a cup of Lavender Vanilla tea and walked around straightening shelves. I found the kid's area was a mess. I supposed that mom hadn’t watched her two toddlers well or cared what they were doing. Too bad I had been distracted by another customer and hadn’t kept them from ripping one of the picture books.

I sighed and set the kid's area to rights and logged the damaged book into the records. I placed it in Lacie’s work area so she could decide if she would discount it or take it home to use in some clever craft project.

I glanced out the window and let out a slow breath and then felt a smile lift the corner of my mouth. Today may be an average day with its little ups and downs. Making up the packages had been fun, but it didn’t flood me with emotion. Much like my Bible reading this morning. I had been glad to spend the time in God’s word, but it hadn’t flooded me with good feelings either.

Yet, I savored the normalcy and realized how often I had taken the average days for granted. I didn’t want to do that again.

I moved back to the counter as the door opened.

“Good day, Pastor Bob,” I said to one of our regulars.

“Hi, Pam!” I lifted his briefcase slightly to me. I saw his signature yellow pad peeping out. “I’m going to look at the menu for a minute before I decide.” He always said that.

I replied the same way I always did: “Take your time.”

I took the moment before he picked which syrup he wanted in his black tea, to jot down in my mercies notebook.

Normal days

Regular customers

That I don’t have I drink coffee, only serve it.

I lay on my bed, trying to decide which of the items on my checklist to do next week, and also read Stranger in Williamsburg When my door burst open and Ivy ran in and threw her arms around me.

“I love it!”

“Love what?” I asked and then my brain remembered and I smiled. “Oh!”

She laughed and retreated out of my room and returned with the box. There were the Cinderella-themed items in there I had picked out. “It’s perfect.”

I looked at the fun items. Cyrstal had loved the pens, highlighters, and annotation tabs I had sent her. It made me want to send random gifts to people every day.

“I’m going to put the socks on now. How did you know I wanted this version of Cinderella?”

I laughed. “Perhaps because you check it out for the library about five or six times a year. They probably have a copy they keep there just for you.”

She hugged me again. “Thanks. This really made my day.” She let out a sigh.

I sat next to her. “Rough day?”

She shrugged. “My co-worker Rene was making fun of the fact I still live at home and she and her friend Carl were talking about how their parents had divorced a while ago and… Do you ever worry we are getting life wrong? I’m scared when I think about if Mom and Dad can’t work things out.”

I gave her another side hug. “There are many things I question in life, Ivy. Living at home isn’t one of them. After all, I love my job and my housemates are people I know and trust. As for Mom and Dad, I know there are no guarantees, but I think they both love Jesus and will do what they need to to work things out.”

Ivy nodded. “I guess sometimes, it’s just hard to be different.”

We talked for a long time. Ivy sharing her struggles. I mostly listened. When I finally had to go to sleep, I made sure I put the conversation in my mercies notebook before I shut off the lights.

You can find Stranger in Williamsburg on Goodreads on Amazon