Having arrived home from Africa to a winter's blast, I called Papa Mike who lives in Boston Bar to check in and see how he was doing. Thankfully, he is doing well and he's keeping warm, he says.
We chatted and I shared a few highlights from our trip. He told me that he had a good day that day and the day before had been good too. I asked him what qualified as a 'good day' and his reply is something that I think can speak to all of us... He said that he had the opportunity to give a ride to someone living there in Boston Bar to the hospital in Hope. This person had trouble breathing...turns out that she has phenomenia. So he stuck around the entire day and he made sure she got her medication and gave her a ride back home.
"So" I said, "Doing something for someone else makes it a good day?"
"Yes." was his simple reply.
I thought, wow...if this was our attitude all the time, if we would but seek opportunities how we can help others and have that our measuring stick for a 'good day', how much better we and the rest of the world would be.
Thanks, Papa, for a life lesson worth sharing. My new challenge is to be more intentional in seeking opportunities to do some good deed for someone else each day. I don't expect to succeed all the time, but every time I remember this and do it, I know I can look forward to having a really good day.
Something else that happened when we came home that made me say WoW! was our home. Not only was it freezing, blowing, cold as the dickens, but we came into Christmas the moment we stepped through the door. Frankie has gone all out and has decorated the house so beautifully! I can't wait till you all see it. I had trouble going to sleep that night in spite of the fact that I'd only had 4 or 5 hours of broken sleep over the past two - three days from all the travel. I just sat there and soaked in the beauty and an idea came to me...
As I gazed on the Christmas tree I thougth that I would like to start a new family tradition for anyone who cares to participate. Under that tree, I would like to have a rustic small cradle built (Randy and/or Frankie, I hope you're reading this and will build it) and I would like to invite all who wish to do so, to place inside the cradle their 'gift' for Jesus. You know, we're always giving gifts to one another, but this one would be for Jesus. It is by giving and doing for others that we gift Jesus because he said that whenever we do something for someone else, we're doing it for him. After all, Jesus is what Christmas is all about. Jesus is God's gift to humankind.
So, this would be something you would like to do for someone else, some loving act of service you intend to do. Write it out on a piece of paper. Then we can share with one another what our gifts are. It doesn't have to be anything extravagent or large or costly. It just has to be a loving act of service.
How about it? Would you like to take part? If so, please write out something that you intend to do and get ready to share it. For myself, I look forward to sharing about a little girl we met in Ethiopia. I'm going to even include a picture.
I am really looking forward to this time and I hope you are too. Maybe some of you aren't there...no worries...this isn't to put pressure on anyone. It's just something I feel would encourage us all to look for opportunities to care for others and in turn, experience what Papa Mike calls 'a good day'!
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