Just Because -- Hope Chronicles 66

A couple of years ago I had a couple of men doing my yard work on a regular basis. Somewhere along the line, they decided not to come anymore. That left me without a lawn mower and no way to get the grass cut. A friend had a friend in the neighborhood and we borrowed his mower and her son, Kolya, cut the grass for me. (My mom's domain was the house. My dad's domain was anything outside and we were never taught to mow.)

That winter I picked up a lawn mower cheap. (Who wants a mower in January in Central Illinois?) That May Mark came over and taught me how to mow.

There is a another single woman to my left and a single mom to my right. My first go around on mowing this year I did all three of our small, postage stamp yards. I don't know if either of them ever knew who had done it.

If you read yesterday's post, you'll recall that I am mechanically challenged. Mark had to come over to help me figure out the problem -- it was on empty! I think Mark said, "Bone dry." It took a little planning for him to come over. It's a very busy time at the church because of moving into the building and finishing up renovations.

In the mean time, some one unexpectedly mowed my lawn. Now, a couple of years ago, no one thought to help me in this way. And I'm not sure which of my neighbors did it, but it was definitely a blessing.

Unexpected kindnesses make the world a more hopeful place. It says "I see you" in a world where many feel invisible. Your assignment today is to do an unexpected kindness for someone. I call these things "Just Because." Here are some ideas:

• Take someone cookies
• Visit someone in the hospital or nursing home
• Write a note just for no reason at all
• Help with some physical thing like lawn mowing
• Talk to manager at a store you frequent to give a genuine compliment to someone

Any other "Just Because" ideas?