Acts of Gratitude for Ordinary DaysSample

The Meaningful ­Mix-​­Up

“I know we don’t know her, but I think we should help,” I told my husband early one Monday morning just minutes after he’d left for work.

“That’s fine with me,” he said. Over the weekend an envelope had come to our home, with our address mistakenly written on it. Thinking it was something for us, one of our kids had opened it.

But as I read the note, I realized it wasn’t meant for us. It was from someone’s tenant, with a check for half the current month’s rent and an apology and explanation as to when she’d have the second half. I looked up the name on the envelope and realized it was a rental management company on our street. Kyle and I put the note and check in a new envelope with the correct address, ready to send out the next day. But as I went to put the letter in the mailbox, I felt a little ­nudge—​­a reminder of all the times others have helped us.

Thus, my call to Kyle. After I hung up, I wrote a check for the other half of the rent and a simple explanation as to how the letter had ended up in our possession and how we wanted to help. I said a prayer for the woman involved as I dropped it in the box, grateful for the opportunities God gives us—​to receive help when we are lacking and to extend it when we have more than we need.

The older I get, the more I see God putting small things in my path for me to notice and act on. Scripture reminds us that if we have two shirts, we should give one away, and if we have food, we should share with those in ­need—​we don’t have to wait for a sign to follow God’s instructions. And once we start, we’ll come to view our actions not as a burden but as a blessing when we see all the small and large ways God is showing up in our lives and the lives of those around us.

Kendra

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Look for ways that God might be nudging you
and then be moved to act.

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