Random Acts

Sometimes when we need to lift our spirits, the best thing we can do is something for someone else. But when we don't have a lot of money or time or whatever, it can seem daunting. So I am working on a list of little nice things we can do - random acts of kindness - and I'll keep adding to the list as I think of more. Feel free to send your thoughts.

1. Leave some change in the vending machine (or pay phone if anyone still uses them).
2. When you call a business and you get the pesky message, "this call may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance" you may wish to say at the end of the call, "thank you for being a fantastic employee, and so polite. You made my day!" Only if the person on the other end was polite, of course! Hopefully that message will get passed along to his or her supervisor.
3. As you go through the drive through, whether at a toll booth, Dunkin' Donuts, or a fast food restaurant, pay for the person behind you.
4. Once I bought some Godiva chocolates and gave them to the lady at a toll booth that I used to drive through every couple days. Just a way to say thank you for what is probably a thankless (and sometimes dangerous) job.
5. Grow some flowers, pick them, and give them to your neighbor. Just don't pick your neighbor's flowers.
6. Scrape snow and ice off the windshield of someone's car.
7. Pick berries, place them in freezer-proof bags, and give them out to everyone you know so they can have a taste of summer all year long. When you pick berries yourself, they tend to be pretty inexpensive.
8. Leave the really good open parking spot for someone else.

More to come ...

Running

It's been a long time since I've gone for a run. The last real "run" I went on was the third leg of a triathlon last September. I let myself recover for a few weeks, which turned into months. The more I didn't exercise, the worse my asthma got, until the idea of running again became anathema.

I don't know if it was my daily habit of eating Cadbury eggs, slices of cake, or gummy candies, but something told me to get back on my feet and go out for a jog. I warned myself a couple of days ahead of time that a run was on its way so I could build up some enthusiasm around it. I started drinking more water than usual. My fiancee was kind enough to blow up the exercise ball so I'd have something to do crunches on when I got back. The sun was shining - a rarity around here - so I knew that even the universe was in favor of this expedition.

After rummaging around for my exercise watch, I realized I hadn't switched the time on it since daylight savings began. I pulled out my "running shoes" - sneakers that I use only for running - and my Ironman sunglasses and began feeling like an athlete again. I was ready to roll.

Here is how I manage to do crazy things like triathlons and wedding planning: I bite off no more than I can chew and set small goals for myself. For instance, I decided that if I was able to run for one minute and walk the remaining 19 minutes, that my workout would be a success. And then I actually stick to that standard and pat myself on the back if the job was done.

But God was good to me on this particular day. I ran one minute, then two ... all the way to five! The asthma kicked in but two puffs of the inhaler showed it who's boss. I kept running and managed to run for 20 out of 40 minutes. A miracle, I tell you! The only thing that slowed me down were my pathetically weak quadriceps. They couldn't keep up with my asthmatic lungs.

I found myself really thanking God as I walked back to my house. What are the chances that an out-of-shape ex-runner like me with frequent asthma flare-ups could so easily get back on my feet? Is it youth? Is it my Pro-Air inhaler? Is it God? Maybe a combination of the three.

I don't expect to be able to do this when I'm 90, and I wouldn't expect to be able to run if I didn't have medication to keep my lungs open. But God has given us youth, and God has blessed scientists with the intelligence and resources to make something as life-saving as my inhaler. Hundreds of years ago there is no way I would have lived this long. But here I am, running under the early-spring sun, marveling at the effortless way my legs carry me along, and praising God that such a feat can be done.

Cascade

I must've woken up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Barely a mile from my house, I got frustrated with the morning back-up of buses pulling into the bus terminal. I had the audacity to honk my horn at a bus that was stopped on green. Isn't it illegal to stop on green?

Then I got to my office and called the bus terminal, letting the receptionist know that it's illegal to stop on green and could she please make the bus drivers stop doing that every day? It frustrates the morning traffic. Never mind the fact that I could have woken up five minutes earlier and gotten to work on time.

My negative outlook already set, I proceeded to muddle through the day, hardly motivated, feeling angry with people who monopolize the office copier and short-tempered with the intern who needs an instruction manual for every task. Even my banana tasted overripe today.

What's up with that? Why is it that when we let our guard down it seems like the devil jumps in and takes over? I got swept up into my frustration before stepping foot into the office and it started a cascade of woe-is-me.

I know God is bigger than that if I would only let God have control of my life. Giving up control is so hard. I can usually do it for about 6.7 seconds and then my nose itches and I get distracted and take the reigns again.

I have about 60 more years to keep working on this. For now, God has control of me. God says that tomorrow I should take a different route to work.

Miracle Makers

I heard this once:

"Prayer doesn't change things.

Prayer changes people, and people change things."

So I thought it over and I believe it's about 90% true.

God doesn't perform miraculous answers to prayer too often, like suddenly curing terminal illnesses or providing a lush crop of food in the middle of the Sahara ... but people perform miracles for each other all the time.

Every time someone gives a donation, it's a small miracle. A stranger being there to open a door for you when your hands are full is a small miracle. A popular kid reaching out to someone of the nerdy type is a small miracle. Firemen who go into burning buildings to save people is a rather big miracle.

Each of these miracles is an answered prayer. Maybe not a prayer we actually sat and prayed with our hands folded, but a prayer nonetheless. A desire within our hearts.

And if God isn't the one who gave the money, opened the door, befriended the nerdy kid, or put out the fire, then who is? We are.

It seems like God works through us humans to do God's will. And the more we pray, the more God's will is done. When we pray, God gives us the ideas, the desire, and the resources to reach out to others.

All of this thinking made me want to start a blog. Welcome.