Acts of Random Kindness

This morning we broke out the snow blower to clear the driveway and sidewalks in front of our house. This relatively quick project became an adventure spanning multiple hours. Our neighbors across the street were struggling to shovel their driveway, so across the street we went with the little Deere to help them out. Appartently they had planned to travel to a family farm a few hours away, but were not sure that they could get their car out of the neighborhood. They left shortly after we finished their driveway.

When that one was through, Collier noticed that another neighbor was shoveling his driveway by himself. His name is Mike. Back across the street we went and his driveway was clear in a jiffy!

Meanwhile, I noticed that this neighbor's neighbor had their garage door up and car running as if they were preparing to leave. The deep drift in the driveway made me wary that the little Altima would make it out into the street. So, off we went to that neighbor's house and started on her driveway. When she emerged from her garage she was surprised to see us clearing a path for her car. Before we knew it, Mike walked over with his shovel and helped us clear that driveway to send our neighbors successfully off to work.

Yet again, I noticed a neighbor shoveling her walk way. Back across the street we went. When I asked this woman if we could help her clear her driveway, she replied that she didn't have any money to pay us with. I was afraid of that... I quickly stopped her and told her that we don't expect anything in return, just that she remember to pass along some kindness to another person. She was very skeptical of us and I truly believe that she felt like we wanted to weasel her out of money somehow. After chatting with her for a few minutes and blowing her driveway she had warmed up to us and we finished the walkway together. We ran the snow blower until it was out of gas. She told us what a blessing it had been to have our help and we knew that the morning's venture had been a success.

This Christmas we want to gently but pointedly remind people that there would be no CHRISTmas without Christ! To have the opportunity to bless other people is a gift. Our snow blower is also a gift, and it would be awful of us to keep it to ourselves.

As you go about your gift shopping and snow shoveling and whatever else you set out to do this Christmas, remember what a gift it can be to serve other people when you and they least expect it. You may never realize that God was using you to make an impact in another person's life at precisely the moment that they needed to see Christ's love displayed.