I was feeling stressed out with two kids on the hip and one in the oven, so to speak. My two little ones and I were at the laundromat, and I was desperate to get home and put the kids down for naps so I could get some rest, too. My 2\u00bd-year-old had to go to the restroom, and when I came back, an old lady was slowly putting her clothes in my dryer. My spirit sunk. No other machines were available.<\/p>\n
\u201cMommy, your face is red. What\u2019s wrong?\u201d Timmy asked. I had to make a choice quickly: I could be angry at the old woman and demand what was rightfully mine or I could be patient and kind.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I studied her taking one piece of clothing at a time from the basket and placing it into the dryer at a pace void of any kind of hurriedness. I sighed and walked over to her. \u201cHere, let me help you,\u201d I said, startling her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you. My hands are stiff today\u2013arthritis, you know.\u201d Tears came into her eyes.
I found an empty rolling basket and placed a clean towel in it for the baby to lie down. The old lady stroked Timmy\u2019s head as he crawled up on my lap and eventually fell asleep, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cMabel\u201d and I sat and talked through her drying cycle and then through mine. I learned about her once busy and full life that was now lonely and plagued with old-age pains and concerns.<\/p>\n
Later I realized how big one small act of kindness, one afternoon of given-up time can mean to another of God\u2019s precious creations. Two weeks or a year down the road did it matter that I didn\u2019t get home that day when I wanted to? No. But, I think the Lord prompted me in an unlikely place to reach out in an unlikely way and make a difference in a lonely person\u2019s life. I noticed when Mabel left that day, she was smiling. And, my heart gained a little more compassion and patience.<\/p>\n
What opportunities will God give you to be His hands and feet? To reach out to someone in the smallest way to make a big difference? People are desperate for someone to show them they are cared for, which is one way we can pass on Jesus\u2019 love to others.<\/p>\n
Colossians 3:12-14 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a92009 Tammy Maseberg All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was feeling stressed out with two kids on the hip and one in the oven, so to speak. My two little ones and I were at the laundromat, and I was desperate to get home and put the kids down for naps so I could get some rest, too. My 2\u00bd-year-old had to go […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fictional-stories","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.”<\/em><\/p>\n