"A little consideration,
a little thought for others,
makes all the difference.”
~ Eeyore, A.A. Milne
As Airman Jibril Jennings was driving down Interstate 240 in
Oklahoma City, he noticed an elderly woman pushing her walker piled with bags
of groceries. Although several cars
passed her, no one stopped to offer assistance.
Since Janice Hall does not own a car, she depends on walking to do her
errands. That day she had been to the
bank and then to do her grocery shopping, a distance of two miles each
way. It was a blistering hot day and
Airman Jennings could see that Ms. Hall was struggling as she walked along the
highway. He stopped and offered Janice a
ride home. As Jennings was loading the
groceries in the trunk of his car, Amber Roy and her son were stopped at a red
light and witnessed the event. Her son
exclaimed, “A soldier is helping a lady!”
Amber caught the good deed on video and posted it, in order to encourage
others to look for ways to help. Airman
Jennings and Janice remain friends. Noticing that his new friend had to
navigate steps with her walker to get into her house, Jennings and some of his
airmen buddies have recently built a ramp to make it easier and safer for Ms.
Hall to enter her home.
Dan and Leigh Dakich observed that many of the kids in their Indiana
neighborhood were walking to places or just staying inside. After talking about the situation, they
decided to start Cycles for the City to supply children with a bike, helmet,
and lock. They had a parent fill in an application,
if they were interested in their child receiving the gifts. There were 60 bicycles given away in the
first year. The Dakichs were very
touched by the impact the bikes had on the kids, as well as their parents. Hearing about the program, Academy Sports and
Outdoors gave $5,000 to Cycles for the City so even more kids can receive
bikes, helmets, and locks this next year.
Rick has been mowing lawns in Chickasha, Oklahoma, for free,
for years now. He finds people who
cannot mow their grass and quietly does it for them. One of the recipients of his generosity is a
97-year-old veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Last year Rick cut 274 lawns and hopes to
reach 300 this year. Then someone stole
his lawnmower. Since Rick is a veteran
on a limited income, he wasn’t able to replace the mower. Bruce McGrew heard about the situation and
shared with KOOL 105.5 listeners on the radio.
Because of generous gifts, they were able to purchase a new lawnmower
and deliver it to Rick that afternoon.
He was so surprised and appreciative.
Roger Patterson related the following story that happened at a
single gas pump station in a rural town in Coffee County, Alabama. A teenager was filling up his Mustang when an
older gentleman pulled in to get gas for his mower. When the teen noticed the man, he pulled the
nozzle out of his tank and said, “Sir, will you please let me see your
can?” Even though he tried to object,
the young man insisted. After filling
the can, he continued putting gas in his car.
The teenager refused to let the man pay for the gas. Patterson noticed that the young man drove
off with a big smile on his face.
We may not be able to do everything we want to do, but we can
each be observant and do something to ease the burden of someone else. Sometimes it may be an individual effort
while other times it may take a group of people to help make a difference. May we each be willing to do our part.
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be
free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one
another humbly in love.
Galatians 5:13
Each of you should use whatever gift you have
received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various
forms.
1 Peter 4:10
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds,
and to be generous and willing to share.
1 Timothy 6:18
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