“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, and she decided that it would be a sunny, warm place to spend her retirement years. She lived there for 29 years, made great friends, and we had many enjoyable visits over the years.
She enjoyed a 90th birthday party, in her California home, joined by family and friends who flew in to celebrate that day with her. She continued to live independently and in good health.
She was doing so well until one day, she tripped and fell, while walking to the nearby grocery store. She broke her wrist and then became fearful and hesitant to venture outside after that. It wasn’t long after that injury, that my brother and I noticed a change in her mental status, and she was starting to become confused.
For some time, she was a recipient of a daily meal from “Meals on wheels.”One day, on a minor holiday, no meal was delivered to her, since they don’t deliver meals on holidays. In her confusion of not receiving a meal, she dialed 9-1-1, urgently reporting to the dispatcher that no one brought her meal that day.
The Huntington Beach police department sent two officers to her home. I learned afterward that those officers came to her door, and asked her what she would like to eat. Taking note of her requests, they left and returned minutes later with a cheeseburger and french fries.
(She declined a beverage, because she had cold beer in her refrigerator.)
My mother was unaware that she received a service that was far beyond the norm of a 9-1-1 call. In her dementia, she had unrealistic expectations of her local police department, but they came through anyway. When I later heard the whole story, I was so touched by their kindness, that I wrote a letter to the Huntington Beach police department, thanking them for the thoughtfulness of those officers.
As her health worsened, we moved her back to Illinois, where she lived 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 eighteen years ago, but I will never forget the kindness of those police officers who went the extra mile that day, far beyond their job description, for a total stranger. As today’s scripture says, those who do not grow weary in doing good, will reap in due season. I trust that those officers reaped a blessing for their kindness to my mother, and to many others.
Throughout her nine decades of life, my mother never missed a chance to serve or care for others, because she was also a person who routinely went the extra mile. I believe she reaped her blessings in due season.
God establishes these natural laws of life, the sowing and reaping of acts of kindness, for rewards in this life as well as in Heaven. It’s beautiful to see it manifested in such a simple example, as this one. Stories like this, teach us to push on, not to lose heart, since we all have moments of growing weary in doing good. There will be a day of reaping for all, in due season.
Lord, thank you for going far beyond the extra mile for us, by offering yourself for our salvation. Reveal to each of us how we can sow seeds of kindness and not grow weary, that we may reap blessings later in life, as well as in heaven. Amen