December 15

Yesterday on the nightly news there was a short piece about a man from Florida. He was in the drive-thru line at Starbucks and the person behind him was honking and yelling at him. So, instead of returning the favor with a rude gesture or yelling back, he decided to pay for the guy's coffee. I guess it lasted all day. A car would pull up to the window only to be told "the car in front of you has paid for your drink". And feeling so good about it, they would, in turn, pay for the car's coffee behind them. What a nice, heart-warming story, especially at this time of year.

But isn't it sad that it made the news? Shouldn't there be so many acts like this each day that we're not so surprised when it happens? And maybe it does happen regularly, it's just not at a large corporation that stands to benefit from the advertisement on the news. I'm not sure. Either way, I want to be on the lookout for more ways to do nice things for other people.

I found myself in a very, very, very slow line at a restaurant this week. Without naming the store, it was one of those fast-food places where you watch your food being made and you tell them what you want on it as you go down the line. There were 2 people in front of me--one family and one woman ordering 2 sandwiches to go. Let's just say it took so long for her to get her food and for me to get my 3 sandwiches to go, that the family in front had time to get their food, sit down, eat it and leave with me when I was done ordering. Arg! I was in a hurry, too!

There were 2 teenage-looking kids working the counter, one said "it's my 2nd day". "Really?," I thought, " I couldn't tell." Woops. I almost missed a chance to be a friendly customer. I was pretty proud of myself for keeping my cool. When I finally paid and turned to leave, I made sure to smile and say thank you. However, I don't think I really "practice what I preached" this week on my blog.

Not being mean and doing something really nice to possibly show the love of Christ to someone else are 2 different things. I certainly wasn't rude or mean. I was very pleasant and said thank you in the end. But that's different than striking up a conversation and reassuring the workers that they were trying their best and then saying "Merry Christmas" at the end.

This may be an extreme example, but my point is, showing the love of Christ means being different than other people. Not in a proud of boastful way, but it means going beyond avoiding being rude. I know it takes a lot of energy and I am often moved out of my comfort zone in order to do this. I have to make a very conscious choice to move beyond just avoiding rudeness. And there are some days it takes a lot of energy just to not be rude. We've all been there, right?

This week I hope you found some ways to take the opportunity to do some outreach for others--which was the theme for this week, in a roundabout way. My hope is that as I continue to prepare for Christ's birthday (that is the point, right?), I can see the value in taking the extra time or energy to show others why my life is different, and how they can have that life, too.

I didn't quite make it to my 100 ideas for serving others this week, but I made it to 65--not too bad, right? I'd love to know what you were able to do so I can add it to my list!

"He [Jesus] got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, during them with the towel that was wrapped around him...'Do you understand what I have done for you?' he asked them. 'You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these thins, you will be blessed if you do them.'" John 13: 4-5 and 12-17