Go Beyond

I have a weakness for certain foods. One of my favorite Mexican food dishes is migas (pronounced me-goss). Migas are made with scrambled eggs, strips or wedges of corn tortillas, onions, peppers, tomatoes, and cheese. It’s easy to adjust the migas recipe to please the palate of any person. I personally prefer crispy tortilla wedges and a little kick to the salsa. Over the years, I have tried many variations of migas and I have liked them all. Migas is one of the foods that take me back to my childhood. When the smell of migas on the stove fills the air I can envision my Mom in the kitchen. Mom introduced me to migas when I was a kid. She was an amazing cook and knew the exact combination of ingredients that I liked in my migas.

Cheryl and I have our morning routine. We are generally up at 6:00 AM, make the bed together (yes, we actually do this), and then start our morning. Yesterday, we had a pleasant surprise. While I was still partially in the world of the sleeping, I could smell the aroma of breakfast migas in the house. “Wow,” I thought to myself, “I must be dreaming.” And then Cheryl asked me to join her in the kitchen. When I walked in to the kitchen, I saw a skillet filled with hot migas and our daughter Gina’s laptop on the kitchen counter. Next to her laptop was a message scribbled on a napkin. “Press play and enjoy!” So we pressed play and up popped a video of Gina. “Hey Mom and Dad,” she said, “I just wanted to do something special for you today so I made some migas for you to enjoy. Love you and have a great day.” Wow! How could we not have a great day after that?

So, yesterday morning, Cheryl and I enjoyed breakfast together — courtesy of our youngest daughter. And, we were not disappointed. Gina definitely got the migas-making gene in the family. The migas were absolutely delicious. The tortilla wedges were crispy and the combination of other ingredients were mixed in to perfection. But, what made these migas even more enjoyable was the fact that they were an expression of love and kindness. Gina intentionally got up early, gathered all of the ingredients, and worked quietly in the kitchen while we slept. Gina’s thoughtful culinary labor of love made a difference in our day. The aroma of Gina’s thoughtful act of kindness lingered long after the delicious aroma of the migas had faded. Cheryl and I both enjoyed a great day.

You never know how a simple act of kindness will impact another person or brighten their day. So many people trudge through each day, hungering for affirmation — even for just a scrap of it to acknowledge their worth. A smile or a simple nod or greeting or a hand on the shoulder or a moment of conversation — these are just a few of the ingredients that can nourish the people around us. Like breakfast migas, these simple ingredients can be combined in a variety of ways to make something that is both delicious and nourishing. And, it’s worth the effort to do so. No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. So, make some migas today and bless those around you.