The Rare Commodity of Compassion

My mother would force my sister and I to mow Ms. L lawn every weekend. We didn’t like having to mow our own lawn, so having to mow someone else lawn was dreadful. Not only did we have to mow her lawn my mother would send us over there with strict instructions. She would say, “You had better not take a penny from her”. We did this for years, and not once did we take payment for our sweat. After awhile, my mother stopped instructing us to go over there, but we didn’t stop mowing her lawn until we both moved out of our mother’s house.

Several years ago, RC was sick during the winter months. During this time it snowed heavily one weekend and RC couldn’t shovel the snow. I called several snow removal companies but no one could fit us into their already busy schedule. Right when I began to panic I heard a snow remover in my front yard. A very dear friend who knew our circumstance sent his two boys over to my house to shovel my snow. I thank God for giving me what I needed when I needed it, but I truly thank God for my friend. He didn’t have to send his boys over to my house, but he thought enough of RC and me to help us during a time when we really couldn’t help ourselves. When I tried to pay the boys they quickly said dad told us not to take a penny from you.” Whenever it snowed that winter the boys would show up to shovel and not once did they take payment.

I learned early in life that sometimes we should show kindness because it is the right thing to do and that we shouldn’t look for repayment. We were not the only kids on the block who knew how to mow a lawn, but we were the only kids whose mother forced us to look at another person’s situation with a giving heart. We learned the rare commodity of compassion.