Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.
(1 John 3:18 NLT)
It was a hot, humid Summer’s day several years ago. I was driving along the road being grateful for both the sun shining off the green leaves and my car’s air conditioner. Suddenly I saw a stop sign up ahead and slowed to a stop. I knew that they were doing road repairs and hoped it wouldn’t be too long a wait. As I looked around off to the side of the road, though, God blessed me with a sight that truly touched my heart and brightened my soul.
There in the shimmering sun was a group of teenagers and an older man wearing matching t-shirts. They were all gathered around a beat up old house trailer. I recognized them as an out of state church work camp. What were they doing? They were rebuilding the rotting front porch of the trailer. I knew that the elderly woman who lived alone there couldn’t afford the repairs herself. But here was a group of teenagers giving up a large part of their summer break from school to travel to our state and help those in need. As I looked I saw that all of them were covered in sweat and sawdust yet there was such a joy in their faces. They looked happy and determined to do a good job. Their smiles were full of love, goodness, and God.
I watched them working for a few more minutes before the stop sign turned to go. Then as I slowly pulled away, I rolled down my window, honked my horn, and waved in appreciation and thanks to these wonderful young people. They had not only fixed the homes of the poor in my town, but God had also used them to make a few repairs to my weary heart that day.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox wrote: “So many paths that wind and wind: When just the art of being kind, Is all this sad world needs.” Those work camp kids reminded me that day that a little kindness makes a huge difference in this world, that we are made kind by being kind, and that kindness and Love are a choice we can make each day of our lives. May we all do so.
Joseph J. Mazzella