Today I noticed a lady walking on the side of the road with only a long sleeve shirt and jogging pants on. No coat, no gloves. I was really bothered by that. At first, I thought to myself, "I want to give her my coat." Then I thought, "she might be a crazy person and flip out on you, do not stop!"
Well, lately I have been trying to live this quote my pastor said a few months ago, "surprise someone with goodness." So, I have been doing just that. I must tell you that it opens up so many doors and not only does it show God's love to people in need but it comes back to encourage me. I love how God works!
So, I pulled my car over and waited for her to get closer to me. When she got close I stepped out of my car and asked if she would please take my coat. She kindly refused saying she wasn't far from home. I could tell that she was a little surprised that I had even asked her. I couldn't get her to take it so I got back in my car and drove up the road a bit but I could not go very far before I pulled over again. I waited for her to get closer and this time I took my coat off and basically begged her to take my coat. She refused again and said she would feel guilty if she took it. I did all I could do to get her to take my coat and she still refused.
I am not sure why I felt so compelled to give it to her. It was something I know I needed to do yet, my goodness was refused. This could easily be discouraging and send me into a mode of not wanting to help anyone but it has had the opposite affect. In fact, that is the only reason I am writing this blog. I want to encourage more people to "surprise someone with goodness." Even if people do not receive it the way we thought they would. I have no idea how my actions affected that lady today. Maybe she just needed someone to show her kindness and maybe she had prayed to God to send a message of love recently. I guess I will never know. What I do know is that this world needs a lot more goodness. Let's be that to our world.
