Monday; September 24


          Last March, Cassandra Warren was sending out invitations to her wedding in June.  As has happened to many of us through the years, she misaddressed one of the envelopes.  A few days later the invitation was returned with a $20 bill and this note, “I wish I knew you – this is going to be a blast.  Congratulations – go have dinner on me.  I’ve been married for 40 years – it gets better with age.”.
          We live in a world where orneriness, social distrust and emotional distance seems to get all the attention.  Stories of rude people doing unspeakable things to each other seem to be what gets all the attention – not just in the media, but around the water cooler, too.  As I read this story, two things came to mind:  First, there are still good people out there doing good things.  Second, I need to be more like those good people.  Rather than being inconvenienced by someone’s mistake, I should be more willing to offer both forgiveness and assistance.  Rather than going out of my way to let people know they have made a mistake, I should take the opportunity to make a (positive) difference in their life.
          The New Testament reminds us of the type of lives we are called to live when Paul encouraged the early Christians, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 4:22-23).  Let’s practice good deeds and highlight good news.  It will make us all feel better!
          Think About It!

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