I was humbled . . .

We have some neighbors who are, shall we say, a bit "odd."  That's putting it nicely.  They have some issues, so to speak, and there's a bunch in the family that are just not all there.  That causes problems in more ways than you can imagine.  Because the patriarch of the family passed away, they are now living on very little money, and things have become desperate.  They decided to auction off all their "stuff" and hopefully, auction their house, too.  I'm not sure what they're going to do after, but that's not the point of this entry. 

I had been to their place to look at their "stuff" well before they decided to have an auction.  I guess you could have called me a vulture.  I was there for me.  To see what I could find that I wanted, and to see what kind of deal I could get.  I like antiques and other "old" stuff, and knowing what I knew, figured I would have a lot to look through and would find some cool stuff.  I was not wrong! There was a LOT of "stuff" to look through, and of course I found a few things I had to have.   

When I showed them what I wanted, I was told "you can just have it.  You've always been nice to us."  Now, these are people that have had legal problems, and lots of other personal problems.  Like I said previously.  While I have always been nice "to" them, in the few encounters I've had with them, I haven't always been nice "about" them.  I've made my own comments to others about them, and I've wondered myself about all their issues.   In short, I was human, and believed myself to be "better" than them.   I could not have been more wrong!  

I was totally humbled by what they said to me!  I don't know if humbled is even the right word.  I know that I haven't stopped thinking about what they said to me and I know that this was a very important lesson that Jesus was teaching me!  Here I am, someone who's finally doing OK financially (I have a good job, can work as much overtime as I want to make extra money and can afford to pay my bills and even save some money to buy some new "stuff.") I can certainly afford to pay for the couple things I picked out from these people, and they, who have so little they are selling just about everything they have, are telling me that because I was "nice" to them I can just HAVE it.   How humbling is THAT?   

I don't know that I'm even writing this in such a way to show what a profound impact this has had on me.   If you've read my blog in the past or know me at all, you know I'm not usually at a loss for words!  Ha!  I'm just totally and completely awed by such a simple act of kindness.  All because someone thought I was "nice" to them, when in reality, I just was not "mean" to them the way most other folks are.  I saw Jesus in this poor, unsophisticated, uneducated, unstable family.  They may not know that Jesus is shining within them, but He is!  I will add this family to my prayers in a way I never did before, and I would ask that you do as well.  Their simple act of kindness toward me has completely floored me.  

This encounter makes me want to strive even harder to be more like Jesus.  He is my rock and my salvation, and the very least I can do is try to emulate Him, to the best of my ability, and remember this time in my life and how someone else was so Christ-like to me, when I absolutely, positively, without a doubt, did not deserve it!   

Like I said, I'm not sure that I'm actually conveying this the way I intended and the way this has impacted me, but right now, it's the best I can do.  I'd like to leave you with one of my FAVORITE new songs.  This is Matt Maher, Because He Lives:  

It is my most fervent wish that Jesus is able to touch you and speak to you the way He  did to me!  

Blessings to All!

Julie