“And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.”
Galatians 6:9 (RSV)
My family is from Chicago, but after my widowed mother retired, she relocated to Huntington Beach, California. My brother was already living there, working for Boeing as an Aerospace engineer, and she decided that it would be a sunny, warm place to spend her retirement years. She made the right choice and lived there for 30 years, making many new friends, and we had enjoyable visits together over the years.
She enjoyed a 90th birthday party, in her California home, joined by family and friends who flew in to celebrate that special day with her. She was so fortunate to be able to continue living independently and in good health, at her age. She was doing well until the day she tripped and fell, while walking to the nearby grocery store. She broke her wrist in that fall, and became too fearful to venture outside after that. It wasn’t long after her wrist injury, that my brother and I noticed a big change in her mental status, as she was becoming increasingly confused.
She was a long time recipient of a daily meal from “Meals on wheels.”On a minor holiday, when no meal was delivered, in her confusion, she called 9-1-1, to urgently report that no one brought her a meal that day.
The Huntington Beach police department sent two officers to her house. I learned afterward that those officers came to her door, and asked her what she would like to eat. Taking note of her request, they left and returned minutes later with a cheeseburger and french fries.
(She declined a beverage, since she always kept beer in her refrigerator.)
My mother was unaware that she received a service that was far outside the norm of a 9-1-1 call. In her dementia, she had unrealistic expectations of her local police department, but they came through 100%. When I later heard the story of how those policemen brought her a meal, I was so touched by their kindness that I wrote a letter to the police department, thanking them for going the extra mile.
As her mental health worsened, we moved my mother back to Illinois, where she lived the rest of her life with my husband and me. We gave her a 92nd birthday party in my home, and four months later, she passed away peacefully in her sleep.
That was over nineteen years ago, but I will never forget the kindness of those police officers who went far beyond their job description, to make a kind but confused old lady, happy.
As today’s scripture says, those who do not grow weary in doing good, will reap in due season. I trust that those officers have reaped their rewards for the exceptional kindness they showed that day.
Today is my mother’s birthday, and since she also went the extra mile in doing good and caring for others, I believe she reaped her rewards in due season, both in this life and in eternity.
God has established natural laws of life, in the sowing and reaping of the rewards for acts of kindness, not only in heaven, but in this present life as well. Stories like this, teach us to press on, and not lose heart. We may have moments of growing weary in doing good for others, but there will be a day of reaping for all who continue to sow seeds of kindness.
Lord, thank you for going far beyond the extra mile for us, by offering yourself for our salvation. Help us to not grow weary in doing good, so that we may reap blessings in this life as well as in eternity. Amen
