John,

This came from a dear, sweet Christian friend of mine and is in my Sunday School class at church. She sent it to our SS class and I wanted to share it with you and the prayer chain. You never know when or how an innocent, "random" act of kindness is going to impact a person's day or life.

Keith


Dear Sheep,
The story below is not some story off the internet. It happened to me today. It's no big deal in the grand scheme of things, but it meant a lot to me. If you have a few minutes, read on.
Regards,
Amy

Right now I am drinking the best cup of hot chocolate I ever had. But it has nothing to do with how creamy or flavorful it tastes. Read on to find out why.

I am the crossing guard at my children's school. Now this is not what you might picture. I don't assist any children across the street because our school is on a rural highway where there are no sidewalks! My job involves stopping the flow of traffic on the highway to allow the cars and buses to enter and exit the school. Ordinarily, the speed limit on this road is 55 mph. During the morning arrival and afternoon dismissal, however, the speed drops to 20 mph, as signaled by a flashing light at the beginning of the school zone. Not a day goes by that at least a few cars manage to miss the lights and come flying through. On occasion, I will stop these individuals and "lecture" them. It goes something like this, "Sir, are you aware you entered a 20 mph school zone back there? ...Yes, there are flashing lights. ...Please be more careful in the future for your safety as well as that of the children who are coming and going from school. Now keep it to 20 until you exit the zone." Sometimes, people respond well, but many others try to argue with me.

In bad weather, people miss the lights even more frequently, but I make it a practice not to stop speeders in the rain. It is just too dangerous. I do, however, give people the universal "slow down" signal. One rainy day last week, I did just this to someone and he actually stopped. I decided to talk to him about his speed. He had missed the lights and was very apologetic. He said we was an ER doc and should know better. I told him it was a common problem, especially in the rain, and after a short but pleasant exchange I finished with my usual plea for safety and sent him on his way.

Today was a beautiful, clear, 26 degree winter morning. I was out doing my job when a voice behind me said, "Excuse me, officer." I turned around to discover the ER doc had stopped again. He said, "I'm the one who drove through here like a maniac last week. This is me (he showed me his hospital badge). Here, I brought you some hot chocolate. Hope you have a nice day." He handed me the hot chocolate and I was nearly speechless.

The thing is, he was nice enough about his mistake the first time. But he went out of his way to perform an act of kindness toward me, a total stranger. Sure, lots of people do nice things like holding the door for someone or helping someone pick up something they dropped. But I don't encounter many people who premeditate an act of kindness for a total stranger, an act that took forethought, planning and maybe even inconvenience to accomplish.

If you are like me, sometimes you get a little down about the fact that our society today seems to be spiraling ever further into "Me-Think". People only care about what they want and are not considerate of rules and laws, let alone other people's circumstances, feelings, etc. Well, today I was very encouraged that there still are people out there committing acts of "first degree kindness"!

I praise God for the blessing this ER doctor gave me today: Hot chocolate sweetened with kindness.

If you feel so inclined, pass this along to some friends. Maybe it will get back to the ER doctor and he will discover the ripple effect of his single act of kindness.

Thanks,
Amy

John Trevino

We are told that the strangers that we entertain might be angels unaware.

Pax,

About 6 years ago,

I was in Chicago, work related with a few of my fellow workers. They wanted to visit the famous Wrigleys baseball field. It was a cold winter day and I said the only way we can possibly get in is to pray for a miracle. As I prayed outside the field asking the Lord for this oppurtunity; there came a taxi cab driving our way. This white haired elderly Lady started walking toward me. She ask how I was doing? And I said just fine. I told her, we were vistors of this town and wanted to go in the field, so we can take pictures. The Lady said follow me I'll get you in. We decided to follow her. She knocked on one of the doors. A gentlemen answered the door and asked, what can I do for you? The Lady replied, can you let the boys in the field so they can take home some memoriable pictures. He said no problem!! As soon as we walked toward the field I turned around to thank her but she was gone!!!! My co-workers were stunned!! Wheter it was an angel or not, God hears are prayers!!!!!!

God bless you and your family abundantly!!!

John Trevino