Random Acts of Kindness

Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."

—Matthew 6:1

I have talked about random acts of kindness before.

Let me remind you (or perhaps share with you for the first time) of an event that took place in 2011:

August 19, 2011

I had a reality check last night.  I went to pick my son David up from his Rider’s Edge class and went to the store.  My list was short, I bought zucchini, snap peas and grapes.  We went to the car and a young man with a toddler came up to the car holding a sign saying that he had lost his job and had no money.  I handed David $4 to give to the man, and then I saw his wife.  She was holding a tiny baby.  I got out of the car, went back into the store and bought a box of diapers for each child, a box of wipes, cereal, bread, peanut butter, jelly, juice, apples, oranges, plastic silverware, paper plates, a roll of paper towel and a pillow pet for the toddler. When we checked out the cashier made a comment about the diapers and how there must be a new baby in the house.  I said no, and told her about the couple in the parking lot.  She said I better hurry because they had been asked to leave and her whole attitude toward me became very cold.  David went out with the groceries while I paid.  The couple were getting into their vehicle.  The little boy’s face just lit up when I handed him the pillow pet.  While David loaded the groceries, we learned that they are refugees, here from Romania, that they were living in California when he lost his job.  Her friend told them to come to Nashville because there are jobs there but they only got this far.  They were sleeping in their car last night because they had no money for a room.  It was 86° with 68% humidity last night.  Not unbearable, but still uncomfortable.  I was racking my brain trying to think of some place they could go, and all I could think of was to send them to the police station to get help.  David saw that a police officer had pulled a truck over in the gas station parking lot, and the truck had just left, so he ran over to the officer to ask for advice.  He ran back and told the couple to wait, that the officer was going to come and help.  When the officer got there, he told the couple that Bentonville has a great place to stay, the Salvation Army, and they could follow him there.  We left.  I cried all the way home.  I wish I could have done more.

My reality check is that I am so blessed to have a home, food and fuel.

I want my son to know that he should help people when he can.

I understand that they were asked to leave the store because someone probably complained, and I understand that if Walmart allowed people to beg that the parking lots would be full of homeless people, so I am not angry with walmart. 

But my church lesson this week was “I was hungry and you fed me . . .” Matthew 25:35-40 .

I wish I could have done more, given them my phone number or email address.

Funny, when I was in the check-out line with my stuff, I wanted a soda, but I knew that I had some at home and I was too stingy to pay for another one.  But I didn’t think twice about going back in and buying stuff for them.  My youngest is 13 – I had no idea how much diapers cost now. . .  the lady, she was beautiful, she was so petite and had a gorgeous smile and she kept saying “God bless you” and she hugged me so tight when we left.  David said the man was so overwhelmed that he could barely speak.  God HAS blessed me.

Please pray for this family.  I don’t know the parents’ names, but the two year old is David and the infant is Corrina.

I have decided to try and find them again today.  I want to take them and fill their vehicle with fuel.  That would be one less thing for them to worry about.

When I sent that out, the response from my friends was completely overwhelming. We had an entire arsenal of food, gas cards and money arranged for this family.

But we could not find them.

I spoke to the officer that helped them.  He said that on the way to the Salvation Army, the family pulled over and waved him down, telling him that their friends had called and they had someplace to go.  The officer said he went back to his car and when he looked behind him, the van was gone, nowhere in sight. He asked me if I had ever heard the phrase “entertaining angels” (Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.) He told me that he believed that these people were sent to me for a reason, and that I fulfilled my commitment to God. 

I used to post every random act of kindness that I performed – telling everyone what I had done, kind of a hey – look at me moment. 

But we should not do that, honestly, it is wonderful to “pay it forward” or whatever you want to call kindness to a stranger – just remember that we should not be compassionate for personal glory.

We must always be motivated to act in the best interest and for the greater good of those in need, without calling attention to ourselves or our sacrifices.

God provides what we need to bless others.

Our goal should be to please Him and to be used by Him to bless others who are in need.

Have a blessed day!