Sometimes a lift comes from the most unexpected places; a gift made with no indication of anything owed, an act of kindness that obligates one to passing it on. I wish I could take credit for recent events but they were gifts given without consideration for anything I could or did offer.
Carli and I stood in a Northwest queue for ninety minutes waiting to check our luggage, we quietly muttered and sputtered about the lack of adequate staffing. There were no options and we had plenty of time, so we waited, feet tapping. As we finally reached the counter the attendant ask where the rest of the family was. Without sarcasm, I think, I commented on our long wait, pointing two tired ladies waiting patiently by the window. The quick, sincere apology for the delay and offer of 4 food vouchers came as a surprise gift of kindness. The great fruit smoothies (purchased with the vouchers) set a tone for the trip that help take the edge off of the next 14 hours of flying.
I needed to send a fax to remedy an earlier mistake. As the deadline loomed I sat patiently waiting for the phone line to clear at the local Fortuna version of Kinkos. Twenty minutes later I was still waiting without hope in sight. Cherry and the girls waited patiently for me to return and I tapped my foot in worry.
“Could I pay for the fax and you just keep trying?”
“Sure, we would be happy to. We will just leave it on redial.”
Following up later I found a message waiting for me that the fax had gone through, an act of kindness for an unknown stranger in a town on vacation.
God gives you and I a gift of restoration that is a mystery. “Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out.” (Romans 11.33) We may not understand God’s action – that is ok; we just need to say yes!
