What Goes Around

And let us not be weary in well doing:
for in due season we shall reap,
if we faint not.
As we have therefore opportunity, let us
do good unto all men, especially unto them
who are of the household of faith.
Galatians 6:9,10

We received a phone call from our grandgirl Madelyn. She had some really huge news to share with her Grand-dad and me. We were at her house just a week or so ago. With her birthday coming up, we decided to get her a nice scooter she had been saving her money to purchase. My husband and I both remembered with fondness childhood days of riding a scooter, so with pleasure, we bought Madelyn a scooter. We realized there was an added benefit for us in having our scooters. It taught us about balancing on a bicycle and using handlebars at the same time. Madelyn's great news was that after riding her scooter for a few days, she was finally able to ride the bike she has without the training wheels.

With that phone call, came a flood of memories. When in first or second grades of my youth, children didn't automatically get bicycles. For one thing, bikes didn't come in assorted sizes and colors. Most of my neighborhood friends started with scooters. As much as I loved my scooter, I looked forward to the day when I could ride a bike.

A friend on my block got a new girl's bike. I was at about third or fourth grade at the time. I asked her if I could try riding her bike. With some reluctance, she agreed to let me try. I didn't tell her I had never ridden a bike before. I got on that bike and took off like an expert. I didn't really know much about applying the breaks, but managed. A dream was born in me that day of having my own bike.

One September before Christmas, my mother took me to a friends house. That friend had a bike for sale and my mom wanted to see if it was the size bike she should purchase for me “some day.” That Christmas, by the Christmas tree was a bright, shiney, red bike. To be honest, I recognized it right away to be the one I had seen with my mom that Fall, but it had a new red paint job, a basket attached to the handle bars and it looked brand new. From that day on, I was a bike addict. When I left home to go to college, several years later, one of my last ventures was to ride that bike out to our city lake on some back country roads.

After college graduation, for a time, I worked at a Baptist children's home an hour or two from home. I was in charge of some of the girls there. A favorite thing to do was going for bike rides as there was a nice park close to the facility. Just the thought brought back wonderful memories of my bike-riding days. There were several bikes parked near one of the buildings. One day, I decided to take the older girls on a bike ride. We took off into the wind. Suddenly I noticed that the left pedal on the bike I was riding was clicking against a part of the bike frame. That sounded and felt familiar. The handle bars, an odd shape also felt very familiar. I had the group stop while I checked a hidden crease of the blue bike I was on. There in that crease, was the leftovers of red paint. I stood with tears coming down my face in front of those girls...it was my old bike...my friend for years from grade school through high school. When I left home, my mother had asked me if she could give my bicycle to someone who could enjoy it as much as I had. I never knew what my mother had done with my bicycle and now I knew. She had given it to the children's home for other children to enjoy. Just as she had done for me, she had the bike repainted, but a different color.

My encouragement for us is that we faithfully serve God and others. Sometimes we may be called upon to serve others in big ways, but most often, it will probably be in very small ways. I have been learning over the past few years that I may not know the results of such kindnesses until Heaven. However, many times, it is the little things that can often come to our attention. These times are encouraging to us and blessings beyond words. Our service for others isn't supposed to be for what rewards we receive for giving of our time, belongings or even money. In fact, we should do such, not even anticipating earthly rewards. How wonderful, though, when our Heavenly Father gives us a little peek back at how He was able to use something we might have thought insignificant that turned out to be of great importance to someone(s) we might not have even known.

It's such fun serving the Lord just knowing we can be a blessing to someone in His name and at times being what I call, “Jesus with skin on” in the lives of others.

Thank you Father for honoring us by using us in Your service. Help us to serve with humility, not seeking the praise of others. Help us to be willing to serve You in any way possible with no expectation of reward or praise. By the way, thank You for my bicycle that other girls in a children's home could enjoy and for my mother's generous spirit. I love you...in Jesus' precious name...Amen.