I travel like the queens of olde. When the monarchy moved from one castle to the next, they took everything with them-the linen, the silver and dishes, the furniture, the food-everything. 

Well, I may not travel exactly like a queen. I don’t have silver and I do have sheets at my summer camp.  However, our car is packed to the brim with stuff, including food for snacking along the way.

Woe is me if anything shifts while in transit.

As we prepared to leave the motel in South Carolina, I opened the back door to get something. Without any warning, the basket containing the snacks slipped out of it place and landed upside down in the parking lot. Food all over the place. I may have used an inappropriate word in my surprise.

Before I could even begin to pick up the mess, a teenage boy appeared at my side. “Do you need some help,” he asked. “How kind of you,” I replied. He then began to pick up the packages and put them back into the basket. Quietly, he completed his task and walked off to join his group. I thanked him, but there was no fussing or awkward conversation about his act of charity. 

However, for the rest of the ride, my mood changed. I could not help smiling and thinking about the kindness of this young man. He could have stood with his friends and laughed at the poor old lady with her food on the parking lot. He could have continued on his way and pretended that he didn’t see what had happened.  But he did not. He stopped and offered a “cup of cold water” (as we say in Stephen Ministry) to someone in need.

We are urged to practice random acts of kindness. The blessings are bountiful for both parties. I know that it warms God’s heart to see His children helping each other without consideration for race, creed, politics, or the other issues that divide us.  Imagine a world where everyone is kind to each other. Imagine a world where everyone loves unconditionally, just as God loves us. “What a wonderful world it would be.”  Read Matt 9:41.

Terri