Cole Phillips, lead pastor at The Connection Church in Kyle, TX sent me this email last week.
Yesterday, I drove through the Whataburger in San Marcos for lunch. I was watching in my rear-view mirror and a black Volvo pulled up behind me. I told the girl at the window I wanted to pay for the meal in the car behind me and asked her to hand him a card. As I got my food and drove off, there was a definite rush of excitment. I felt like I had gotten away with something. What was the guy thinking? I may never know. But what a fun and simple way to brighten someone's day and connect it back to God's love.
I hope you get to experience the same joy that I did. So go ahead, eat some fast food, maybe a McSalad, and make someone's day. Let me know how it goes.
Making the Connection,
Cole Phillips, Lead Pastor
Today on the way home from work, I passed a stalled car on Southbound I35. I've felt ill all day and really wanted to go home to a shower and some rest. Suddenly, I decided to exit, loop around and find the motorist to see if I could help. As I took this lengthy detour (and I say that because there are almost no exits and ramps between Onion Creek and Buda), I started to think, why do I not normally do this? I remembered all of the excuses why not to stop: I'm tired. I have an appointment. I'm running late. Everybody has a phone these days anyways, right? Then, I thought of all the reasons why I should stop. Remember the story of the good samaritan? Wouldn't God want me to stop? At the risk of bragging: Has God not blessed me with above-average vehicular intelligence? This is a gift that I can use to help other people!
I finally made my way to the vehicle and pulled over. I got out of my truck and started heading towards the stranded car. I think my first thought was, "making sure not to get maced as a scary-looking guy with a shaved head and piercings makes his way to a stranded motorist." However, this little joke of mine quickly subsided and I continued down the shoulder as 18-wheelers went whizzing past me. The driver got out of the car and looked at me like a deer in headlights. She was absolutely puzzled that anyone had stopped. It was probably at that moment that I felt the best about what I did. Fortunately, the car had simply overheated and her friend was on the way with a gallon of coolant. A simple solution, already solved. She shook my hand and extended the most genuine smile that I've seen all week.
As I headed back to my truck, a sense of joy came rushing over me. I've been sick all day and instantly felt 10-times better. But there was something more. I, like Cole, experienced that "rush of excitement" and felt "like I had gotten away with something." Then I realized, it's not what I got away with - it's what I took away through "a fun and simple way to brighten someone's day and connect it back to God's love."
I've recently felt my heart cry out to be used by God instead of just blessed by God. Today I got a small taste of what that means, through a random act of kindness. Pass it on...
God bless,
-James
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