Be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one
another,
as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Ephesians
4:32
There are times when someone does something for us in secret and they have no way of knowing at the moment what it means to us. This last weekend is one of those times when a friend couldn't have known the impact of leaving a precious gift at my front door.
I grew up with the greatest of neighbors. I often went to the house of Mr. & Mrs. Rennie. They lived two doors down from us. We referred to them as Old Mr. Rennie and Old Mrs. Rennie. Our parents always referred to them as “Old”. They were probably in their mid sixties...they weren't just old. They were very old....OLD. I loved them and often went to their house. Old Mr. Rennie's entire backyard was a garden. Many people in those WWII days had gardens, but he grew about anything you could think about.
In
the summer I learned to walk through our neighbors back yard to Old
Mr. Rennie's back door. He would come to the door and I would tell
him I wanted to eat a tomato. He had taught me how to pick one that
was ripe and the right size. We would sit on his back steps, each
eating a tomato. He would bring a salt shaker and we would both
indulge. I knew I had to sit on that step until I ate all of my
tomato leaving only the stem part. There just was no taste like Old
Mr. Rennie's tomatoes.
I
have spent my life loving tomatoes and really looking for just one
tomato that tasted like those tomato's I ate on those concrete steps
with and OLD friend. I've sought that taste and although most
tomatoes have been very good, there has just been something missing.
Sunday,
a friend left four gorgeous tomatoes on my front porch. I don't know
who did it but brought them in anticipating eating one when I got
home after church. I couldn't wait to dig in and did so after
grabbing my salt shaker. I took my first Bite. I just sat there
chewing on that goodness. All I was thinking was “Old Mr Rennie.”
I couldn't believe that after 78 years, THE tomato had finally made
it's appearance in my life. Sounds strange I know but that's the way
it was.
All
of that for this....we never know when we show a kindness in
another's life what that might mean to that person. I've done those
things and it's kind of fun pulling off a secret on someone. At the
same time, on the other end and in many cases, we may not know until
Heaven what that act of kindness meant to one who was perhaps going
through a hard time and an “Old Mr Rennie: memory may be stirred in
that person's mind and are blessed. How fun to be that kind of
encouragement. A person need not be going through a tough time for
such thoughtfulness. We can all use an extra smile at anytime.
As
Christians, we're called to be people-conscience whether they be
saved or unsaved friends. Maybe that “tomato” could be a seed
sown in an unsaved heart that would draw that person to seek and
find. Perhaps a Christian who is discouraged with life would feel a
warmth that someone thought of them in a special way and they were
blessed. Often just such a thing can encourage our own hearts as
givers knowing that for a moment, we took our eyes off of our own
problems and thought of someone else.
It
may mean a phone call, a card, or a word of kindness...even a tomato
We live in a needy world and are still called to be “Jesus with sin
on.” Let's not be weary in well doing. Too many people need us.
Thank You, Father for the people You have brought into my life through the years who have blessed me in so many ways. Thank You for the notes, church friends, teachers, green beans, squash and yes, tomatoes that have brought me through some tough times. Thank You mostly for Jesus Who is my all in all. In His precious name....Amen
