The Summer of my eleventh year was a wonderful time of joy and
innocence. My days were spent riding my bike, walking in the bright
green woods around my home, swimming in the crystal clear river that ran
by my house, playing in fields full of wild flowers, and looking up at
the clouds. I wished those lazy, peaceful days would last forever. But
then it all changed.
It happened in the middle of the night when
I heard my grandmother scream. A fire had started in her room and was
rapidly spreading through our house. We all ran outside with only the
clothes on our backs. I watched in shock as fire devoured our home.
There was nothing left.
That night I went from a happy and
carefree child to a homeless and scared one. The following days were a
blur. I didn't know what the future would hold. All I could feel was
fear.
Thankfully, good friends took us into their home, fed, and
clothed us. One night around their dinner table my Mom thanked them for
all they were doing for us. Smiling, her friend said, "Honey, it was the
least we could do." Later they began to share old stories and laugh. It
was then that I smiled for the first time in days and felt the fear
finally fading from my heart.
Looking back on that time thirty
five years ago, I now see that it wasn't the least they could do. The
least would have been nothing at all. Instead they opened their home and
their hearts to us. They shared their food and their kindness. They
helped us to start over when we had lost everything. They helped a
scared boy to feel safe, loved, and happy again.
The next time
you are given an opportunity to help another then don``t just do the
least you can do. Do the most you can do instead. Give from your heart.
Share from your soul. Live a life that makes Heaven smile. God put us
here to love each other, to feed each other, to help each other, and to
make this world a better place for everyone. That is the most we can do.