Toni, Susie and Rebecca

I can think of two women right off the top of my head that are examples of The Rebecca Principle: Toni and Susie.

Toni works at the post office. Most of us who live in Dodge have to pick up our mail and Toni is consistently cheerful to serve us in the post office. She goes the extra mile. One Saturday morning I knew I would not be able to retrieve my ticket for a package since the window just closed. But as I walked back to my car, Toni was driving off. She parked her vehicle, jumped out and went back in with me to get that package. And she never stopped smiling!

Susie works in the Production Department of the company which manufacturers the product that we sell. Again another cheerful gal, Susie can always be counted on to pick up slack when the coordinators are not around to receive our calls. I will never forget the business meeting I attended in Phoenix followed by a fancy awards dinner. Several of the managers received well deserved awards. One of them gave Susie accolades in his acceptance speech, remarking that her support and help allowed him to increase sales that year. As he finished his remarks, the whole audience stood up and gave Susie a standing ovation. Everybody expressed just the way I felt about my coworker.

In Genesis, Chapter 24, Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for his son, Isaac.

^10-14 The servant took ten of his master's camels and, loaded with gifts from his master, traveled to Aram Naharaim and the city of Nahor. Outside the city, he made the camels kneel at a well. It was evening, the time when the women came to draw water. He prayed, "O God, God of my master Abraham, make things go smoothly this day; treat my master Abraham well! As I stand here by the spring while the young women of the town come out to get water, let the girl to whom I say, 'Lower your jug and give me a drink,' and who answers, 'Drink, and let me also water your camels'—let her be the woman you have picked out for your servant Isaac. Then I'll know that you're working graciously behind the scenes for my master."

Rebecca was the young woman who gave a drink to Abraham’s servant and then offered to provide water for his camels which was no easy task! This woman of integrity was hard working, going the extra mile in her service. Only Rebecca would fill the requirement to be Isaac’s wife. She received her reward.

We learn from the Rebecca Principle that hard work and integrity obtains the promotion. Not only that, it pleases the Lord.

A Surprise at the Mall

I lost touch with a writer friend. I missed her and her cheerful blog posts. We met up in a most unusual way! I’m still in awe of how it happened. I finished my shopping at the mall and took a short cut to get to the parking lot. The path led me through the food court. The smell of Chicken Fajitas stopped me in my tracks. I planned lunch elsewhere, but now I followed my nose. I chewed my first bite of chicken taco salad when, out of nowhere, a loud redhead moved rapidly past the tables and into the booth with me. “I know you !” She shouted. I pondered if I knew this crazy lady. Did she mistake me for someone else? She shouted louder and stuck her finger in my face: “ You’re Mary; you have a blog called Pile of Smiles and you live in the Verde Valley .” It took me a second to compose myself. I stopped chewing my food. I know I stared too long at her face and then she said:...

Mama's Lipstick

I always wished I could do things with my mom like shop in the mall, share makeup secrets or go to the movies and watch romantic comedies. My wish never materialized. My mama behaved like a tomboy. She loved baseball and pitched with a strong right arm. She could care less about the latest fashion or the latest movies featured on the big screen. She never polished her fingernails. One day after elementary school, I walked into the house to find my mom all dolled up in front of the bathroom mirror, foundation crème, powder, eyebrow pencil and rouge all over the counter sink. “Who are you?” I asked, thrilled to see my mama putting on the Ritz. Makeup in place and blotted, she immediately took it off. “I don’t like the way it feels,” she exclaimed. She retired in Arizona and protected her dry lips with a light rose lipstick, the color of natural lips, a step above ChapStick. She wore it a few tim...

Hitched to a Rough Road

Photo Credit: Peggy James I got his email and wanted to shout: “Hey, buster, does the phrase “continued behavior pattern” mean anything to you? But I didn’t. Travis is at it again. His email revealed a litany of complaints about our neighborhood, our country road, our board officers, bad decisions made that will cost him money , yada-yada-yada . Travis is a Christian brother but you’d never know it. He is a large, loud man who shoots his mouth off as often as he shoots his guns back here in the hills. He interrupts at our road meetings and, like a typical hothead, he speaks truth but with a tone that makes me feel like I need to duck in case some of his words fly at me and smack me upside the face. I thought we were making progress, but we’re not. It is our rough road that brings us together . Last year we picked up the neglected pieces of our road association. We agreed to assemble once again to talk, make decisio...

AndreaOctober 21, 2009 at 11:18 AM
What beautiful modern day examples of Rebecca. GOD Bless them both!

Often, integrity and hard work are difficult to find. Thank you for this reminder to be more pleasing to our Lord.

I pray you are doing well. I think of you often! I am thankful the blogging world joined our hearts as friends.

Blessed to have met you,
andrea
Heart2HeartOctober 21, 2009 at 12:11 PM
I love this post! I too love to model the Rebecca principle! It reminds us that we are serving God by serving those around us. Let us all be a light that shines in dark places.

Love and Hugs ~ Kat
RCUBEsOctober 21, 2009 at 12:16 PM
It's hard to find people with these qualities now but it doesn't hurt if each of us remember this and put it into our actions. So, thank you for reminding us. Have a great day sister Mary. Sending you some banana muffins I just baked...Got coffee? Love to you sister!
Kathleen October 21, 2009 at 5:44 PM
A woman of God is a rare creature. I so admire godly character - far more in my older age than ever I did in youth.

Thank you for sharing. Blessings,
Kathleen
LorenOctober 21, 2009 at 5:56 PM
Instilling hardword and integrity is something we try to do with our kids and also the youth when we taught them. Thankyou for sharing this and honoring these women I am sure they were humbled!

I love you Mary ~ you are an example of this as well ya know!
Mevely317October 21, 2009 at 7:00 PM
What a beautiful tribute, Mary!
Always thinking of others, I'm so blessed to call you my friend!

Hugs,
Myra
Kelly LOctober 21, 2009 at 8:42 PM
This is an incredible post - I know I pray to be more like Rebecca everyday -

Love to you and thank you so much for your prayers.
Kelly
DeniseOctober 22, 2009 at 5:22 AM
Such a wonderful post sweetie.
christy roseOctober 22, 2009 at 7:59 AM
Hard work and integrity reveal the character of God within us. Allowing Him to empower us in both of these ways even gives Him the glory in that we are able to work hard and be honest because He empowers us to do so! Great post Mary!!
JackieOctober 22, 2009 at 2:16 PM
I love this post! It's just so difficult to find people with integrity, kindness and character these days and what a reminder that we as Christians should BE the example of serving others as Jesus did! Thanks so much for the reminder - it pleases the heart of God when we are true "imitators" of Him!
Sweet Blessings!
Jackie

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