#31Days of Dove Promises-Twenty

So, as you can tell, I'm having a hard time keeping up with this fabulous series on chocolate, not that I'm having a hard time eating chocolate, but the actually writing and editing and formatting the post... not so easy! So today, I'm going to open my doors and invite my good bloggy friend Mel to join us and share a little story...

Because chocolate is best shared, I am also looking forward to sharing some chocolate with Mel, one of my GodSizedDream sisters, at Allume this weekend!!


My husband and I spent 2005-2010 living and working in the country of Indonesia.

We loved it. :)

Beautiful, green mountains and scenery, wonderful people, adventure waiting around every corner...it was truly a place I tried to embrace every day. 

But there was one thing I didn't embrace there.

Oh, I tried...but I couldn't. I just couldn't love the chocolate.

Unless I was willing to pay exorbitant amounts for imported chocolate, I was stuck with the more local stuff. Not my favorite, but admittedly, I'm totally a chocolate snob, too.

Therefore, when we would return to the States during the summers, you can only imagine what my suitcases looked like when we’d get ready to head back overseas. Yep, stuffed to the brim with the precious things I couldn't find easily in Indonesia...my beloved clunky flip flops, jeans from my favorite store, a few fun shirts.

And chocolate.

There was always lots of chocolate.

I would pack it up and stuff it into every nook and cranny, making sure we fully used the allotted 50 pounds per suitcase.

I remember one particular summer when I stocked up a little more than usual...I think I brought back two or three plastic shoeboxes FULL of chocolate. And when we returned to our house in Indonesia, I hoarded it all in the fridge or the freezer and dared anyone to try and swipe a piece. ;)

Ok, ok, I'm not that selfish. Usually. ;)

And I remember, in particular, a Saturday the following January. It was kind of the dreaded time of the school year...beginning of third quarter, coming off of a long Christmas break, spring break still a bit too far out of sight. That morning, a friend and I decided to sneak away for reflexology, which basically translates to a mostly-foot massage with a little back, neck, and head thrown in there.

It's glorious.

And made even better by the sweet women working there who would bring us little cups of ginger tea that tasted like heaven.

It was all kinds of wonderful…and more than kind of cheap there, but I won't tell you how much.You'd be jealous and then pack your bags as fast as you can.

We hit Starbucks for a frappuccino after the massage and then headed home to reality.

And I remember, as I walked in the door, thinking that there was one thing that would make that morning even better.

Chocolate. :)

And so I dove into my ever-dwindling stash and took out a Dove Promise.

Unwrapped it.

And the promise?

Get your feet massaged.

What?!?! Really???

After I practically-choked on my sweet treat, I promptly took that little piece of foil, folded it up, and placed it in my wallet. Almost five years later, it is still there, though it's moved between wallets a few times.

What it signifies, I'm not sure. Maybe just the complete and utter irony that such a random promise would be opened on the day I got a foot massage.

In a country where you can't even buy a Dove Promise.

But I mostly like to think that He wanted to give me a smile and a memory of this place across the ocean that now occupies a precious corner of my heart...one that I can carry with me every day.

It's not earth-shattering, but it still makes me wonder a little.

Because I've eaten a lot of Dove Promises since that day...and I have never, ever, seen that promise again. ;)

Community Conversation:  I've said it before, I'll say it again, God can even use little notes on chocolate candy to speak to us... :) Give Mel a great welcome in the comments and let us know of any "Promise" that came at just the right time!! 

Yes, I am working to share one promise every day. To see all my #31Days of Dove Promises head to this page and bookmark it, pin it, or just subscribe to my blog and we can enjoy a little bit of chocolate together every day this month.

and if you have lots of time to spare, check out all the #31Days topics at The Nester!