Simple Things That Make A Difference

My wife Linda and I just returned from a trip. It has been a goal or desire (I call it a “Quest” because it sounds so macho) to see every major league baseball park in the US. This trip was to Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Detroit and Cleveland. Eight ball games – substantially heaven!! Anyway one of my concessions is that in each city we also visit the local zoo – Linda’s passion. I’ve come to the place where I really like them but I won’t admit it – though I think she has figured it out.

One of my favorite things to do at the zoo is to watch people especially little children and their parents. The animals outside the cages are even more interesting than those caged. As I watched folks it occurred to me how much we are all alike. We may look different – the dad’s with tattoos on every visible inch of their bodies look different than the dads with the shorts and polo shirts – but inside we are the same. We have needs.

There was not one person that I saw that didn’t need love and acceptance, not one that didn’t need to feel valued and not one that wanted to exist alone. But not all of them acted nice, acted like they deserved this love and acceptance and community that they longed for. Not all of them made me think I would even like them!

But I thought, as a believer I have this opportunity to let those needy ones see Him in me. A small assistance – like lifting a stroller through a turnstile, like buying cokes for a mom who is hot and haggard with three little ones, like holding the tray of drinks at a game while an elderly man gets mustard on his hot dog – might just be the little piece of “need meeting” that encourages another to go one more step, make it one more day, or be just a little more patient with that screaming three year old.
Do you ever think that just a simple encouragement might be the difference between a “good” day and a “bad” day for another person? The Good Samaritan story is just as operative today as it was 2,000 years ago. One good deed each day will make a difference in someone’s life and might give you a chance to tell another why you do what you do.