I woke up this morning with an intense desire to stay under my warm covers all day. Since when is Pittsburgh, PA supposed to feel like the arctic tundra? It's freaking cold outside! As I got ready for my day I lamented over the amount of time it would take for me to scrape away the many layers of ice on my car. Days like these make me consider investing in one of those remote control starters! Bundled up in all of my warm attire... I waited as my garage door screeched open and the subzero air instantly engulfed my domain. I could hardly take a breath. As I walked toward my car I suddenly realized my predicament wasn't what I thought it would be. In fact, I had no predicament at all because someone had taken the time to scrape the ice off my car for me. I felt so fortunate. I looked around and saw that not only was my car scraped off, but all of my neighbor's cars were shed of their icy enclosures as well! Standing there across the street was my neighbor Freddie. He had spent the morning scraping all of the cars before people left for work. I couldn't believe he would do such a kind thing.
Later that day I stopped by the house to grab a sandwich before I headed out to another meeting. While pulling into my driveway I realized that someone had shoveled my sidewalk and driveway. As I got out of my car I realized that a number of my other neighbors driveways and sidewalks were shoveled as well. The sight of this caught me off-guard because many of my neighbors are gone all day at work. I glanced across the street and there was Freddie... red faced and sweaty. Freddie spent the morning shoveling and salting the neighborhood. Who does that? Apparently Freddie...! I showered him with thanks and appreciation. That kind of service really meant a lot to me.
After a long day, I was anxious to come home and eat some dinner with my wonderful wife. In the middle of dinner I got a phone call... it was Freddie. He told me to come to the front door, so I did. There Freddie stood with a plate of freshly made pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing. It was incredible... like manna from heaven!
Ok... let me just say this.... I think Freddie loves Jesus more than I do! Seriously... this man blows my mind. To have a heart like that... to bless people... to make an impact... to serve. It's just not natural. This attitude is a God-given gift and I don't even think Freddie knows it. Freddie is showing me the love of Jesus... and I want him to know it. I had a conversation with Freddie a few months ago about God and the church. He told me he would never step foot in a church again. Many years ago he worshipped weekly at a church with his family. He worked multiple jobs to meet his families needs and did everything he could to provide. Freddie found himself struggling to make ends meet... but was too proud to ask for help. A preacher at his church approached Freddie one Sunday to ask him to up his giving to help support the church budget. Freddie explained his current financial situation to the preacher and expressed his remorse for not being able to give more. The preacher responded with this... "I believe God wants me to tell you to take another job so that you can give more money to the church." Freddie left and never returned.
Freddie loves Jesus but hates the church. Unfortunately,... I can't blame him. I wished a quarter of all church goers were like Freddie. It would make a huge impact on this world. I want a heart like Freddie... because Freddie has a heart like Jesus. I hope you have a Freddie in your life!
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