When ordinary people do extraordinary things

Doesn’t it warm your heart when you see and hear about people quietly helping others in amazing ways?  These people are not looking for any recognition or even for anything in return. They are simply serving someone else with a heart of humility and love.

Recently, I heard of two such instances via two emails, one after the other. The first was from my husband’s cousin, telling us with joy and excitement—and a good dose of humour—about their interesting adventures of the past few weeks. She and her husband had just returned home from a trip to North Queensland when they received a call from a friend, asking if they could possibly head to a quite remote property in Central Queensland for a few weeks, in order to help an eighty-year-old man trying to manage on his own, after his wife’s death. He needed to get to hospital for an operation, followed by rehabilitation—could they look after his property for a while?

Not only did this couple go, but, while there, they thoroughly cleaned inside the house, replaced rotted window sills, painted doors, railings and other bits and pieces, cleaned up the yard and workshop, took old cars to the dump, fixed tractors, put up wire mesh on verandas—and completed so many other difficult jobs. Also, one day, they drove to four other nearby properties, one after the other, to deliver a special gift hamper to each from a lady in their church. In previous years, they had made contact with these folk through helping to deliver truckloads of hay to them during drought time—and now someone from the city was still touching their hearts through this ministry of love.

My second email was just as moving. This particular friend shared with me how she and her husband had been caring for their adult daughter for weeks, travelling to and from where she lives, in order to bathe and dress some huge ulcers on her feet.  Then when the ulcers had healed a little and she was back at work, they faithfully drove her to work each day and returned in the afternoon to take her home. This couple does all this, despite the fact that my friend is herself in a wheelchair. Her husband has cared for her too for many, many years and continues to do so.  Yet these folk always appear bright and happy—the love of God truly shines through them both.

I am sure you could add many other similar amazing stories to these, just as I can. For example, each week, people from our church put on a barbecue lunch in a park in Parramatta, in order to feed homeless folk or those not doing so well in life. Others I know help rescue and retrain girls overseas who have been trafficked for prostitution. Still others care for orphans in countries where there are few resources. The list goes on. All these people are amazing—and they give of themselves time and time again in extraordinary ways, to reflect God’s love to others with a humble, servant heart.

I want to be like that—don’t you?

… Serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” Galatians 5:13-14