Week 116

Positive post Sunday, May 5, 2019- Week 116. 

Have you seen or heard Honda’s Random Acts of Helpfulness on TV or on the radio?  Honda invites residents to share where they, or friends, may need a little help on a challenge they are facing in their lives and then Honda personnel show up unexpectedly and fulfill their need.  A few examples include, paying for a child’s daycare for one year. helping a bride pay for her wedding, delivering pizzas to a staff of hungry Social Services workers, and helping local teachers prepare their classrooms for the first day of school.

Seeing a few of these commercials on TV made me think, where in my life do I have opportunities to offer others my own random acts of helpfulness or kindness? After reflecting on this for a while, I realized how blessed I am to have a family who perform acts of kindness as a part of their ever day lives.  Especially my wife Michele Lomen Rendler and my parents Dana and Ken Rendler.  Their generosity and care for others has set a strong foundation for our family to continue giving to others less fortunate than us.  They, and the Helpful Honda Dealers, have shown us all that we are presented with endless opportunities to help others every day and sometimes we don’t even see them when they are right in front of us.

Here is an example.  A few months ago, to get a healthy start on my workday when working at my office in down town Los Angeles (DTLA), I started taking a walk very early in the morning, often before sunrise.  I walk a 4-mile route that goes through some pretty challenging areas in DTLA.  As you might imagine, I see a very diverse cross section of our society each morning I walk, from business men and women in suits going to work, to early morning joggers to members of our homeless community sleeping wherever they could find a warm dry place.

For weeks I walked by many of homeless people, some asking for money, others still asleep on bus benches, sidewalks and under overpasses.  Although I often thought about how sad it was and the monumental challenge with homelessness we have as a society, I would quietly say a prayer for them and continue my walk.  Then one day, after seeing one of those Honda commercials, I thought of a simple way that I could start my own random act of helpfulness.  So, I started bringing bottled water on my walks, giving one to a homeless person each morning, most often just setting it next to someone sleeping on the street.  I realize this is only a drop of water in a sea full of needs, but I’m hopeful it bringst some comfort to those I have helped.  

This reminded me of the “Starfish Thrower”.  I encourage you to take a few minutes out of your busy day and watch this video  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-aVMdJ3Aok.  Although very small and humble, these are impactful examples of being Christlike.  Let’s make the world a better place, one bottle of water or one starfish at a time!

What examples of acts of kindness have you performed or seen that have brought you or others closer to God?  Or more importantly, where are the opportunities in your life to help others through acts of helpfulness?  And, most importantly, ACT!