Stuck

Stuck

Dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.

2 Thessalonians 3:13

At the end of an especially difficult day, I turned onto our side street after picking up my two young children from day care. It had snowed the night before, and the snowplow had buried my driveway entrance with at least a foot of heavily compacted snow while we were gone. I managed to plow the minivan through the snow at the bottom of the driveway, only to find my tires spinning uselessly as I tried to drive up the remaining fifty feet at a slight incline and into the garage.

After slipping and sliding back down the driveway, I was fed up. I threw open the van doors, grabbed my kids, and—in my suit and heels—carried them through the three inches of snow blanketing my driveway and into the house. My van, having slid to a stop at a crazy angle, was a humiliatingly silent testament to all my neighbors that my day had been lousy and that I’d lost my battle against the snow.

About twenty minutes later, I heard a knock at the door. It was my neighbor—a father and grandfather—who lived two houses down. He had his snowblower with him: he had taken care of the snow left behind by the plow and had started up my driveway. With the help of his snowblower and his pushing the back of the van, I was able to get the van up the driveway and into the garage.

The fact that my neighbor noticed my catawampus parking job and helped me—a young mom with toddlers—warmed my heart and redeemed a rotten, no-good day.

His simple kindness still flashes across my mind and brings a smile to my face as I pull into my driveway on snowy days. It is amazing how a simple act of kindness can have a lasting impact on someone, even years later. When I start to wonder whether “doing good” actually does any good in a world that feels crazy, I remember how I felt that snowy day, and I’m encouraged to keep going. Let’s not tire of doing good, knowing that a simple kindness can have an outsize impact on someone’s life.

—Julie

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Help a mom who seems a bit frazzled.