Tea Cakes

One day last week, one of my neighbors sent me a text message to alert me that another neighbor--we’ll call her MJ--needed to give me something. MJ had knocked on the front door but didn’t get an answer, so she enlisted the help of the other neighbor to figure out if we were home.
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I walked outside, and MJ made a beeline for my yard with a Wal-Mart bag in hand. She pulled out a Ziploc bag and said, “Now, this one has your name on it.” And then she pulled out a second bag and said, “And this one has your husband’s name on it.”
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Sure enough, each Ziploc had a piece of masking tape with our names in all capital letters. They were also labeled with the date and “TEA CAKES,” and each bag held four perfectly browned cookies. MJ explained that she and her sisters had spent a day or two baking the treats and wanted to share. She had thoughtfully placed napkins in the Wal-Mart bag, and as she replaced the cookies into the bag, she apologized that she had only given us eight.
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I was blown away when my other neighbor later explained that the siblings make their tea cakes every year and distribute them around town to neighbors and local businesses. This woman gifted me and probably ¼ of Woodville with tea cakes and was sorry she had not given me more. Oh, to have so generous a heart!
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These sisters are all in their 70s or 80s and live together with one of their brothers since none of them have any children. I often chat with them as they go about their daily business--checking the mail, getting groceries, and mowing the grass--but I’ll admit that I don’t check on them enough. Their simple act of kindness was quite the humbling gift.
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Woodville is teaching me, and each day I am learning.