The Best Thing Anyone's Ever Done

A few weeks ago, while gathered with friends, someone asked, "What's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you? Besides Jesus, of course."

I'm 44 years old. Lots of people have done lots of nice things for me. My husband is up there, that's for sure. He loves me, encourages me, spoils me rotten -- my kids really notice, and prays for me. He writes me little notes. He smiles a special smile, just for me. During our journey to Ellie, complete strangers gave us money from their pockets. Quite unexpected. When we got home from China with Ellie, our house was immaculately clean and dinner was simmering in a crock pot. With fresh, homemade bread. The gift of a special friend. On bedrest during my second pregnancy, a dear friend would drop anything to help me, encourage me, rush me to the doctor, bring food when I actually felt like eating.

Just thinking about the BEST THING anyone has ever done certainly opened my eyes to how blessed I am! But the best thing...

Several years ago, my husband's father died from cancer just after the new year. He held on through Christmas. The family got to see him. We all said our good-byes. His life ended quietly.

The visitation and funeral were in our hometown of Kent, Ohio. For the record, Kent is located at the edge of the snow belt. Any given January can bury the town in a deep blanket of snow making travel treacherous. The day of the visitation, Kent got one of those storms, snow AND ice! The family gathered at the funeral home anyway. Local friends braved the weather and came to share their love and say good-bye. Some friends and family, not surprisingly, couldn't make it. The weather was just too bad.

Partway through the visitation, four guys came in, hardly expected. From our church in Delaware, Ohio (about 2 1/2 hours away on a good day), they drove to Kent in that crazy storm. To pray with us. To stand by us. We hadn't asked them to come, not that they weren't welcome. We certainly didn't expect them, especially in the bad weather. Yet, there they were.

What's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me? Four guys, unbidden, drove through a horrendous snow and ice storm to stand by my husband (and me) on the saddest day of his life. They were His hands and feet of comfort. They were His reassurance in the flesh. They held us up when our hearts were broken. (Yes, we know his dad is in heaven and we'll see him again. At the time, it didn't make the good-bye any easier.) The nicest thing anyone has ever done is showing me that "family in Christ" means exactly that. Family. United as one. In Christ.