I joined a group on Facebook that prompts service and kindness during this Christmas season. This post caught my attention. I often don't have strength to make big things happen but I could use a bit of kindness to help things go better.
Do you have an 'oil can' of kindness?
There is an old story of an elderly man who always carried a little can
of oil with him everywhere he went, and when he would go through a door
that squeaked, he would squirt a little oil on the hinges. If he
encountered a gate that was hard to open, he would oil the latch. And so
he went through life, lubricating all the difficult places, making it
easier for all those who came after him. People called the man
eccentric, strange, and crazy, but he
went steadily on, often refilling his can of oil when it was nearly
empty, and oiling all the difficult places he found.
In this world, there are many lives that painfully creak and grate as
they go about their daily work. Often it seems that nothing goes right
with them and that they need lubricating with "the oil of joy" (Ps.
45:7), gentleness, or thoughtfulness.
Today's challenge:
Do you carry your own can of oil with you? Are you ready with your oil of helpfulness each morning?
Your oil of cheerfulness will mean more than you know to someone who is
downhearted. Or the oil may be a word of encouragement to a person who
is full of despair. Never fail to speak it, for our lives may touch
others only once on the road of life, and then our paths may diverge,
never to meet again.
We cannot know the grief
That men may borrow;
We cannot see the souls
Storm-swept by sorrow;
But love can shine upon the way
Today, tomorrow;
Let us be kind.
Upon the wheel of pain so many weary lives are broken,
So may our love with tender words be spoken.
Let us be kind.
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