“Don’t do good only to those who treat you well." ~ Luke
6:33
The Thrift Shoppe was a treasure
trove to Hannah. Her eyes lit up as she
entered it, greeting the volunteers like old friends. After exchanging news with each of them her
quest began. She’d search every rack and
shelf, not for herself, but with her entire extended family in mind. She believed that clothes didn’t necessarily
lose their value just because they were pre-loved.
Today she spotted a nearly-new dress that she knew her
granddaughter would love. She giggled
with anticipation as she added it to her basket. Five minutes with her sewing machine and
you'd never recognize it.
Shopping for others gave her great joy. But money was tight, so Hannah asked the
store owner if he’d hold it for her until the beginning of next month.
“May I buy that dress for you?” asked the customer waiting
in line directly behind her.
“Thank you, but I can’t accept such a gracious gift,” Hannah
replied.
Then the total stranger explained why it was so important
for her to help.
“I found myself homeless and
vulnerable at 15,” she began, “when my mother died from a heroin overdose. I slept in shelters when possible, but mostly
on park benches, under bridges, and even on church steps.
Bending down, she removed her
jacket and handed it to me, saying “Here, you must be cold.” Then she pulled out a twenty dollar bill from
her wallet and a chocolate chip cookie from her pocket. Handing both to me, she smiled; not a
patronizing smile, but a warm, engaging one.
After she left, her warmth remained with me to this day.
“I’m no longer homeless; my
situation has improved,” she continued. “But
I promised myself that I’d repay the kindness she’d shown me – as often as possible,
in as many ways as possible, to as many people as possible, for the rest of my
life.”
She paid for the dress.
The only payment she accepted in return was a heartfelt hug.
‘Paying it forward’ is an expression for repaying a good
deed forward to others instead of back to the original benefactor. It encourages us to reflect on the good that God
has done in our lives and to pass it on to others. Encouraging those we help to ‘pay it forward’
multiplies its goodness.
We never know what somebody‘s going through. Sometimes all it takes to change their life’s
trajectory is a kind gesture - taking one extra second to do something positive
without expectancy.
Lord, help me “do all the good I can, by all
the means I can, in all the ways I can, in all the places I can, at all the
times I can, to all the people I can, as long as ever I can.” ~ John Wesley
