Brighten Your Day

Funny how a memory from 50 years ago can still shape your life and touch your heart.

I was 7 or 8 years old. We were spending a week visiting my Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Richard at their home in Tennessee. My older brothers were off playing with neighborhood boys their own age and I was left alone. One day, though, I noticed a boy about my age playing outside of a worn, old house down the street from my Aunt’s home. I talked to him and we struck up a friendship and played outside together for the next few days.

One day we were thirsty and went inside the empty house to get a drink of water. I noticed something, though. The shelves were bare of food and the refrigerator was empty too. When I questioned my new friend about this he said it was just the end of the month and when his Mom got paid in a few days all the shelves would be full of food again. Still, I was troubled that they were out of food for the next few days. I had never seen anyone be totally out of food before.

I told my Aunt Charlotte about it that evening and without saying a word she took a pie she was baking out of the oven and disappeared out the back door. I later learned that she had dropped off the “extra” pie that she couldn’t use to my friend’s Mom down the street. And for the rest of our visit there Aunt Charlotte would have a BIG lunch ready for me and my new friend each day. I didn’t realize then what a shining example she was being to me. She was literally showing me how to live, how to give, how to share, and how to Love.

Sometimes in this life God not only gives us our Daily Bread but asks us to share it as well. When He does be like my Aunt Charlotte and share it with a joyful smile and a loving heart. Do your best each day to help God create a world where no one goes hungry, where no one is homeless, and where everyone feels Loved.