Snowblown
Snowblown
Don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.
Hebrews 13:16
Bleary-eyed, I raised my head off the pillow as my husband attempted to move stealthily across our bedroom and out the door extra early one morning. The forecast had promised at least a foot of snow overnight, and he was getting up to snowblow a path out before we had to get to school-bus stops and jobs.
I got the kids up and moving, made coffee, and fed everyone breakfast, and after all that, I realized Aaron was still gone. I peered out the living room window and saw nothing but a freshly cleared, empty driveway. Turning my head, I spotted him—a snow-dusted figure slowly plowing his way down the sidewalks—headed toward our widowed neighbor’s driveway.
This is not an uncommon sight during winter. When my husband heads out the door to take care of the snow, I’m never quite sure how long he will be gone. Once he gets started, more often than not he does a few extra sidewalks and driveways around our cul-de-sac, especially when he knows that someone has not been well or has a lot on their plate. In our snowy Minnesota climate, this is an easy way to bestow a tangible kindness on those around us.
Truth be told, it’s a contagious kindness. Several people with snowblowers on our end of the neighborhood have started wandering past their own driveways and onto the sidewalks and driveways of neighbors nearby, ours included. It has become a give-and-take among neighbors—each of us keeping an eye out for one another on snowy days—and has deepened our sense of community.
And it all started because my husband simply took action. There were no elaborate plans, no discussions, no grand schemes behind it—he just started serving where he was and with what he had. These small sacrifices have served to pull our neighborhood closer together, and they are, undoubtedly, pleasing to God.
— Today’s Act of Kindness —
Serve someone else unexpectedly with a sacrifice of your time.
From the book
