Goodness and Kindness

 

This past week, a snowstorm blanketed the northeast.  Due to more snow predicted for the following days, it didn’t take long for Brian DeLallo, football coach at Bethel Park High School in Pittsburgh, to realize that the Monday after school weightlifting session would not be happening.  Coach DeLallo sent out a tweet on Sunday to notify his players that their after-school workout would be cancelled.  He then stated, “Find an elderly or disabled neighbor and shovel their driveway.  Don’t accept any money – that’s our Monday workout.”

Team captain Gavin Moul, and his teammates, took the coach’s words to heart.  Whether individually or in groups, they began offering help to their neighbors.  Gavin reported that, “They’re surprised that we’re not taking money.”  Some residents refused their help, since they would not accept payment, but other recipients were grateful for the offer and help. 

 

The athletes also enjoyed their unusual workout request.  Moul reflected, “I feel great about it and think we all feel great about it.  It’s not only helping them, but it’s helping us to become a better team.”

 

Coach DeLallo has received much praise for his tweet to his players.  He quickly gave credit for the idea to his predecessor and said he was “simply carrying on 1 of the many great traditions he established.”  DeLallo continued, “You get a lot more out of this than ‘did you bench press 300 pounds today?’”   “It’s a chance to connect with the community and you don’t get many of those, so this is nice.”

 

In another community, a mother took her three children to a nursing home.  The children made snowmen and played on the front lawn, much to the delight of the residents and workers.

 

What wonderful ways and opportunities to serve and bless others.  May we, too, look for ways to be the hands, feet, and heart of Jesus this week.

 

 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

The Spirit of the Olympics

 

Erin Jackson, 10, and Brittany Bowe, 14, met when they joined the same inline skating club in Ocala, Florida.  Now 29 and 33, they continue to be skating competitors and friends.  Both women have been training for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.  On Friday, Jackson had an unexpected bobble in her qualifying race and came in third place, behind Bowe and Kimi Goetz.  Since only two women can be guaranteed a spot, that meant Jackson would not be competing in the 2022 Olympics.  With reallocation from other countries, there might be a possibility the US could have three women compete in the 500m, but since Jackson did not qualify to be on the team, the third participant would not be an option for her.

Bowe qualified for three speed skating events for the 2022 Olympics, the 1500m, 1000m, and 500m.  On Sunday, Brittany called Erin and then notified the US Speedskating authorities that she was giving her spot in the 500m to Erin, who is currently the number 1 ranked skater in the event.  Even if the US does not have the opportunity to have three athletes for the 500m, Bowe knew it was the right decision.  “In my heart there was never a question that I would do whatever it took if it came down to me to get Erin to skate the Olympics.  It’s just the spirit of the Olympics and being a great teammate.  And yes, it’s bigger than just me.  It’s Team USA.  Erin has a shot to bring home a medal, hopefully a gold medal, and it’s my honor to give her that opportunity.”

 

Because of Bowe’s expression of sportsmanship, Jackson will be able to compete in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, an opportunity she thought was lost.  Erin stated, “Just for her to do something like this for me, it’s amazing.  I’m just incredibly grateful.  I’m really humbled, and she’s an amazing person.  That makes it 1o times more awesome going into Beijing.  Going into it, no matter what, I’ve got my eyes on the top spot, but this just makes it so much sweeter that I was kind of given this gift from a very close friend of mine.  It would be awesome for both of us to be able to stand at the top of the podium in our races and share that moment.”

And with the help and prompting of God’s Spirit, may we, too, look for opportunities to bless, encourage and make a difference for others.

 

Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Luke 6:31

 

Do everything in love.

1 Corinthians 16:14

 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Philippians 2:3-4

Serving With a Purpose

 

After retirement, Ranjan Vee’s father began bee keeping and harvesting honey for a hobby.   On a recent visit, his father excitedly showed him the honey he had just collected from the bee hives.  As he lifted the top off of the five-gallon container, Vee noticed that there were three bees that were trapped on the top of the honey.  Because of the coating of honey all over their bodies, the bees were not able to fly away and escape.  Ranjan asked his dad if there was anything they could do to help, but he commented that they would not be able to survive.  Vee still wanted him to try.

Going inside, Mr. Vee found an empty plastic yogurt container.  He used it to skim over the top layer of honey, captured the three bees in it, and then placed the container on a bench in the backyard.  Since the hives had been disturbed earlier, during the collection process, there were still several bees flying around the backyard.  Later, as the dad checked on the bees, he noticed something amazing.  He called his son to come outside and see what was happening.  The other bees had surrounded the container and were cleaning the sticky honey off of the stuck bees.  On a later check there was only one bee left, but it was not alone.  The other bees were still tending to the remaining stuck bee.

 

As it came time to leave, Ranjan went with his dad to check on the last bee.  The container was empty.  “Those three little bees lived because they were surrounded by family and friends who would not give up on them, family and friends who refused to let them drown in their own stickiness and resolved to help until the last little bee could be set free.”

 

Anthropologist Margaret Mead was once asked what she thought to be the first sign of civilization.  Anticipating the response to be grinding stones, fish hooks, or clay pots, the students were surprised with her response.  Mead stated. “The first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed.  A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts.”

 

Maybe we truly are our best when we take time to help and serve others.

 

 

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 grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 4:10-11

Lessons From a Blizzard

 

On Monday, January 3, 2022, a winter storm blasted the mid-Atlantic states.   Casey Holihan and her husband, John Noe, were in the process of traveling from their home in Ellicott City, Maryland, down I-95, to visit Noe’s family in Newport, North Carolina.  As they approached Quantico, Virginia, the interstate came to a standstill.  With the road covered in snow and ice, about 50 miles of I-95 came to a halt and all motorists were stranded.  After sleeping in their car overnight, Casey and John woke up hungry.  They estimated that it had been about 37 hours since they had last eaten.

Casey and John noticed they were behind a Schmidt Baking Company truck.  Casey decided to call the company to see if they could have/buy some of the baked goods on the truck.  Since no one answered the phone, she had to leave a recording on the message machine.  Assuming people were stranded at home, Casey doubted they would hear back from the company.  Within 20 minutes, Chuck Paterakis, a co-owner of H&S Bakery, based in Baltimore, Maryland, called and reported that he had instructed Ron Hill, the driver, to give the rolls and bread to anyone who needed it.  Ron opened the back of the truck and began giving away a loaf of bread and package of rolls to the people in the stranded vehicles.  Even though it was still freezing temperatures, Casey and John took trays of the bread, walked to dozens of cars and gave the gift of bread to the cold and hungry motorists.  Others also began helping with the distribution.er cold and hungry motorists.  Others also began helping with the distribution.

When interviewed, Paterakis said their family-run bakery had been in operation for almost 80 years. His parents opened the first bakery in Baltimore in 1943.  He and his three brothers now own the bakery.  “We’re very humbled and grateful that we could help.  My father and mother taught us how to work hard and give back to the community.  My parents would be very proud.”  Since the coronavirus pandemic, the bakery has donated close to 3 million loaves of bread to people in the Baltimore/Washington area.

 Lessons to note:

* Casey and John had a need, thought of a solution, and were willing to ask for help.

* Chuck Paterakis was in the right place to meet the needs of the stranded motorists.

* The Noe’s passed out food to others before taking care of their own needs.

* It’s good to have community, especially during difficult days/situations.

* Whereas the H&S Bakery could have made a sizeable profit from the hungry travelers, they generously gave their goods to people who needed them.

* Take extra food and water in your car when traveling.

 May it not take a blizzard for us to help those around us this week.

 

Do everything in love.

1 Corinthians 16:14

 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above

yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Philippians 2:3-4