Today, to “be the light,” Ted and I helped two ladies with their walkers.  As we left the building, they were getting out of their van in a handicapped parking space and I could hear the lady nearest to me huffing and puffing as she very slowly worked her way back from the car door to the open trunk, holding onto her van for support.  I asked if I could help–just as another woman in the same condition appeared on the other side of the van.

The ladies gratefully accepted the offer of help and I got the walkers out of the trunk, opened them up, and put them in a ready-to-go position for each lady.  While I did this in the 20-degree weather, Ted helped Lady #2 put on her much-needed coat, which was also a struggle for her.

When everything was ready to go and the van was all locked up, both ladies thanked us profusely.  They were so appreciative of our small service of a few minutes that one said, “You’ve done your good deed for the whole year.”

This is something Ted and I would have done anyway–with or without Jeff’s “light the world” project–because that’s what our parents taught us to do.  I find this to be true of the kindnesses I’ve done this week as part of our family challenge.  Every act has been something I would have done anyway.  The difference this month is that, instead of doing these small things as they occur in my life, I’m making a greater effort to find someone every day who needs an act of kindness.  That’s definitely a positive thing.