Starting a Revolution

It was a fantastic Sunday here in Tennessee. It was quite sunny and not too hot outside. After looking at baby furniture with Jennifer this afternoon, I needed to mow the lawn before our trip to Virginia next week. I waited until around 6pm to let the sun start the process of resting over Tennessee and began to mow the front yard. While I mow the lawn I can relax, listen to the iPod and let my mind wander and allow it to have a recess from the daily activities.

After the front was completed, I caught myself thinking about my neighbors. The patriarch is was laid off due to the failing economy. He found some work in Louisiana that keeps him away from home several weeks out of the month. Every few weeks, I see him with his family for a few days and he's off again trying to be a good husband and provide for his family. I thought that it would be a nice gesture to help his family out by cutting his front yard for his family. The wife and children were not home, so I figured that it would be a great time to do something for them without them knowing about it. I was not looking for any credit- just the idea of doing something for someone in need would be something that we should do more for one another.

I brought my mower over and quickly cut the front. In and out- like a sniper completing a clandestine mission. It didn't take long. About 20 minutes was all it took to do something nice for someone. It really got me to thinking about our society...

I don't have a lot of money to help someone- but that is not what this is really about. It's about giving someone something that you cannot get back. It's the one thing which everyone on earth is given the same amount. It's the gift that you cannot keep, the currency you cannot save, and the great equalizer of the rich and poor: time. Giving your time means much more than money. If someone has millions of dollars and gives a hundred thousand to a cause, it is a nice gesture. But did it really hurt to give that amount? You have millions to to still go home to at the end of the night. Just like the parable of the widow: Jesus said the woman humbly giving all she had left despite the amount was more than the pharisee proudly giving much more.

What if each of us began to do something nice for someone without looking for any return? How would this world be different? The payoff for taking 5 or 10 minutes out of your day to do something for someone could be tenfold! I am challenging each person that reads this blog take 5 to 10 minutes out of their day sometime this week and give a part of yourself to someone you work with, a neighbor, or even a stranger. There is a reward that you get that is better than money and recognition- it is letting someone know that you care. It may be the one thing that changes their mind from doing something regrettable. It may be the the thing that someone needs to lift up their spirits on an otherwise tough road they are traveling. It lets them know that even if they feel isolated and alone, there is hope even in the darkest hour.

Leave a reply and let me know what YOU did to make someone else's life better!

Thanks for reading...

m