Today we got home from church and our teenage neighbor was in our front yard with her mower. Our yard was a sea of leaves. She was mowing them for us. He father then proceeded to rake the edges of the where extra leaves had escaped the mower and bag them. It didn't take them very long to do it, but we were caught off guard by this act of kindness.
We like to give, but it was awkward receiving. This is also the neighbor who has been taking my kids to school for me and picking them up and new years eve brought me a couple things over when I was unable to get some stuff on my own. We aren't best friends. We don't socialize on a regular basis. But we are neighbors. Having neighbors like that is nice.
It's not always easy to just say thank you without feeling like we should do something in return, but I had to realize today that when we give to others, we do it because we can. We don't expect in return, and we certainly don't want them to feel obligated to give in return. So, we thanked them a lot, and left it at that. I'm sure sometime we'll be able to do something kind for them, when it will be as much of a blessing to them as this was to me. :) I've been humbled lately, receiving acts of kindness from others with my broken leg. It's great to be on the mend again and not feel so helpless. The meals, company, and phone calls to see how I have been, have been so appreciated from everyone. We certainly have been blessed and we are looking forward to blessing others in 2006!
3 comments:
I have a hard time accepting generous acts of kindness also. I understand feeling like you have to return the favor. They probably don't expect anything in return.
Isn't that the way we all are? But then again, even though its hard to accept the acts of kindness, when you find yourself in a situation where you "need" them...you realize how much more humbled you are because you actually do "need" them to give those acts of kindness...because you can't do everything all the time alone.
I can't even accept food samples at the grocery store. Anything beyond that messes with my pride.
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