Generous Hearts

 

Good Earth Greenhouse LLC is located at Highway 7 S, in Oxford, Mississippi. A few days before Christmas, they notified the people in their community that the remainder of the Christmas trees, at their location, were free to good homes. 

Walmart has a partnership with 20+ food banks across Texas. During this Holiday Season, they have generously donated over 90 million pounds of food, providing over 75 million meals for families.

Frank Gable is a recently retired factory foreman and a widower. He values his quiet and slower mornings. Saturday morning, the doorbell rang at 7 AM! Opening the door, a cold blast of air hit Mr. Gable. Two boys, 14 and 12, were standing on the front porch. The oldest spoke, “Excuse me, Mr. Gable…we were wondering if you’d like us to shovel your driveway. And your front walk.” The drive was buried in snow. It wouldn’t be an easy job and neither of the boys appeared to be dressed warm enough for the task. When asked the cost, the boys said they would do it all, plus the steps for $20. When Frank asked if it was $20 each, the young men assured him it was $20 total price. After permission was granted, the boys began shoveling. Marcus, the older boy, used the decent shovel to break up the snow, while Leo used the shovel held together with duct tape. The boys worked without breaks, no complaining, and no talking on the phone. Frank noticed that Marcus soon changed shovels with Leo to help make it easier for him. After watching the boys work, Mr. Gable put on his boots, made two cups of hot chocolate, took them outside, and announced that it was time for a union break. He then told Marcus to go to his garage and get his heavy-duty shovel to finish the job. An hour later they knocked on the door and had Mr. Gable come out to inspect their work. He noticed the boys had even brushed snow off of the railing by the steps. Frank opened his wallet and handed Marcus $120. The boys reminded Mr. Gable that they agreed to shovel his driveway and sidewalk for $20. Frank replied, “I know what you said. You did the work. And you did it well. Twenty dollars an hour per man, for three hours work, in this weather. That’s $120. You earned it.” Tears began rolling down Leo’s face. Marcus spoke, “Sir…you don’t understand. Our mom works nights at St. Jude’s. Her car battery died this morning. She was going to call off and maybe lose her job.  The auto parts store said a new battery is $114. We were just trying to get anything.”  The boys took off running straight to the auto parts store.

 

May our hearts encourage us to be generous, too!

 

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:11