Small Kindnesses

There used to be things that were commonplace: little acts like a man giving up his seat for a woman, or opening the door for her, or even just honest-to-goodness graciousness and friendliness. Unfortunately, you don't see much commonplace courtesy in our culture these days.

Today I saw something that reminded me just how far away from this we have strayed.

In my Linguistics class...Part way through the lecture, a young lady walked in, glanced around the room for an empty seat, and slipped into the last desk, inconveniently placed just inside the classroom door and underneath/against the blackboard. Ten minutes later, another woman entered the door. There was a momentary pause, and then, to the utter amazement of everyone in the room, one of the young men rose from his desk and offered it to the woman who had just entered. She was rather embarrassed (or so I assume by the fact that she turned red, and mumbled "are you sure?"), but accepted the seat. He proceeded to sit on the floor by the classroom door--though he shortly saw a chair in the hallway, which he rolled in and sat on. Five minutes later, another woman--late for class--walked through the door. At this point I expected another guy to get up and offer her his seat because a precedent appeared to have been set. However, nobody moved, and the young man who had offered his seat to the first woman, again rose and offered this new woman his "hallway" chair. He sat on the floor for the rest of the class period.

Is it just me, or is this rather surprising? This young man's selflessness stood out against the selfishness of today's culture.

It's little things like this that bless my heart. He had no idea that his "small" act of generosity toward another would reach beyond the immediate moment, and encourage me. Who knows how small a thing as a cheerful word, or a friendly smile, can encourage and bless those around us.

Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
--Col 4:6

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
--Eph 4:29

Back in the Saddle...well almost!

We arrived home last Friday night from our trip to OR to deliver all of LK's stuff to her new home. Wow, what a trip it was. We arrived in OR Wednesday late afternoon, and Thursday we unloaded the Penske truck and helped LK put her kitchen together. It was a huge job, but boy did it look nice when it was completed! Much of the rest of the time in OR was spent doing this and that, and enjoying the fellowship and conversations of those around us.

Friday: I think Friday was my favorite day. AJ (my brother-in-law's oldest sister) had the day off work because the humidity was too high for the wheat to be harvested (she works in the summer for a local farmer, driving a combine). C and I got to spend the entire day with her, and do stuff. We didn't do much if you look at it in the light of "doing," but we enjoyed ourselves immensely! One of our activities was to step over to the garden and pick some raspberries and blueberries for dessert that night. I think we ate half the berries we picked! Blueberries were the best because there are no prickles to catch your fingers on. Later in the afternoon, she drove us over to the wheat field she would have been combining--if it hadn't been raining. I now understand the phrase "for amber waves of grain." That wheat field was beautiful, even in the rain. We each plucked a wheat head and began to eat the wheat berries contained within it. A whole new experience for CA city dwellers! The rest of the evening consisted of skipping stones in the river, dining with friends, and eating large amounts of berries, brownies, and ice-cream while attempting to solve wire logic puzzles.

Picking berries in the garden




Saturday: This was the wedding reception for those in OR who hadn't come to the wedding. The day was beautiful and fun was had by all.

Sunday: A peaceful day of rest and preaching. Oh yes, L and LK had 17 people back to their house for a BBQ after evening service. It was a blessed time of fellowship.

Monday: In the mid-afternoon, I went on a hike with Mom, B (LK's mother-in-law) and DY (L's youngest bro) to some local waterfalls. Afterwards C and I got to ride in the combine with AJ and Mar (another one of L's younger bros). We even got to drive the combine for a row or two! Hey, maybe next summer I'll go visit L and LK and get a summer job driving a combine up there!

The Falls



The wheat field



Combining



Monday evening, one of the families from the church invited us over to their place for a weenie roast, and boy-oh-boy was it goooood!!!!!

Tuesday: Went for a walk with Mom, LK, and C. Then, joined the M family for a float trip down the river. That was so much fun that a little while later B, LK, C, and I paddled upriver for 20 minutes just so we could go down a set of rapids and float another 15 minutes back to the house. (Whew! If I did that every day, I would have killer triceps!) None of us got out of the rafts when we reached home however. Instead, we secured them so they wouldn't float away, and then lay in them--in the sun--and talked, and laughed, and sang for awhile. I was so relaxed it was difficult to head back home for dinner.

Wednesday: This was the day of farewells. We left in the morning to start the trek home--stopping at Crater Lake on the way. I have never seen anything quite like Crater Lake; the vibrant, vivid colors, the majesty of the terrain--incredible!!! (Click on the picture to expand it and get a better view.)



The whole trip was wonderful. What I enjoyed the most was seeing L and LK in "their" home--to see their love for and joy in eachother; that and spending time and beginning to build a relationship with AJ.

When I left, I felt like I left two sisters behind instead of one. But I know there will be MANY more occasions to go up and visit.

So now begins the "normal" routine of life--especially as school starts up again next week. Somehow, I hate to say goodbye to such a memorable summer.