Stepping Stones: This is for me?

Transformational Tip
Each year on Christmas Eve Day, I have a tradition of delivering a small gift to the people who provide a service to me throughout the year. The postman, butcher, coffee-shop owner, etc. I’ve been doing it for years. The gifts are always received with such happiness and delight.

This year, as I was walking toward the coffee shop to deliver a bottle of wine, I stopped into a local oriental rug store to pick up a rug I had ordered the week before. The owner of the store greeted me when I walked in. He’s been in that same location for 25 years now. He’s a wheeler-dealer, an all-business kind of guy…he rarely smiles. He and I had a fairly intense negotiation session over the rug I purchased the week prior.

As I reached to shake his hand he noticed the gift wrapped bottle of wine I was carrying (the coffee-shop owner’s gift, remember). Mistakenly assuming the gift was for him, he reached for it with his other hand and said; “this is for me?”…and then began thanking me profusely. His face lit up, almost in shock, and he started searching for something to give me in return. He also sells imported tea in his shop…so he grabbed a box containing a selection of exotic teas and gave it to me with pride and joy.

I was struck by how this simple act of (unintended) kindness brought such happiness to this man. For a few minutes that gift transformed this man’s life. We talked a bit more and then I left with my rug…the smile remained on his face the entire time. Based on his reaction…this man was in desperate need of some attention and kindness.

Today, think of one or two people whose lives you might change, even for a few minutes, by delivering some unexpected kindness. There are so many people around us who live in quiet desperation. I don’t think you will have to look far…maybe one of those people live in your same house. Be a Lighthouse and shine God’s love on others. Click here to share with the Stepping Stones community your thoughts on the power of simple kindness to one in need.

Prayer
Dear Father God, I thank You, Father, for leading me to this man who was in need of some kindness. I confess Lord that I am much too focused on myself…on my issues and needs. I pray that You fill me with Your Holy Spirit, and that Your Spirit guide me to those in need of love and attention. Let those in need see Your radiant light shining through me and onto them. I pray in the name of the one You sent to transform me though forgiveness and love, Jesus Christ; and all God’s children said - AMEN!

The Truth
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these."
Mark 12:30-31
"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5:13,14