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MARY WEAVER
PASTOR/AUTHOR/LOVER OF JESUS
9-8-2024
Acts of Kindness
Some of the greatest regrets I have are having someone who truly needed something I could provide, and I did not. Sin is selfishness, pure, and simple.
I was behind a lady at Trader Joe's in a hurry to pick up some last- minute things for Easter dinner. It was Easter. I looked for the shortest line. I was next in line when a woman and her two kids were trying to pay for their last-minute groceries. As it turned out, every card she had to pay with was denied.
Did I pull out my card and bless her? No! I was in selfish mode, wishing she would get out of my way.
I will never forget that lost opportunity I had and reacted out of my flesh instead of the Spirit. It haunts me how easy it is to be selfish.
Then there is this. My youngest son was very small for his age and bullied most of his childhood. His teacher called me to come in and have a talk. My mind immediately went to, "What has he done now?"
I walked in, and she said she wanted me to know what he did. There was one very large boy in her class whose brother in high school was a shot putter and had taught his brother how to do it. Field day was coming up, and my son, as small as he was, could outrun anyone. He signed up for all the running events.
Unfortunately, the shot put event was only signed up by that one boy out of the whole school, and she was going to have to cancel it.
My son stood up and went over and scratched off one of his running events and signed up for shot put so this boy in his class could win his blue ribbon, even though it cost him a blue ribbon of his own. True acts of kindness will always have a cosymt attached.
She wanted me to know that she had never in all her years teaching seen a child be so kind and giving.
My son had never touched a shot put in his life. But he wanted this boy to be rewarded for the only thing he could do well.
A true act of kindness, thinking of someone other than yourself like I did not do on that Easter morning.
It will cost you something. You will lose out on something you wanted for yourself.
Don't get me wrong, I have done true acts of Kindness. However I have had huge misses of the greatest opportunities as well.
When my other son was in Denver Christian High School and the school had Acts of Kindness Day, every student went out into a poor community and did something for someone that they could not do for themselves. He drew washing windows for a widow. He went to her apartment to wash the windows. The funny thing was, she was blind. He did his community service wondering why she would even care.
This is like a double act of kindness. He was not doing it for her. She was having them done for someone who visited her who could see.
Lord, I pray that when something comes before us, we are not selfish or in too big of a hurry, and sin. But that we would do like You always did. Stop, look and listen, and do what they needed. There are many needs out there if we keep our spiritual eyes open. Help us, Lord, to let our light shine with goodness and graciousness while we are here.
Love, Mary Weaver
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