If you abide in Me and My word abides in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.
Some months ago, when I was visiting my daughter, son-in-law and grandsons, we all went out to supper together. As Gary was about to pray, he glanced up and saw our waitress approaching.
After she stated her business—I don’t remember what she said—Gary told her we were about to pray and asked her if there was anything we could pray about for her. I’d never heard that done in a restaurant before, but I thought it was a neat idea.
So did she, apparently, because she immediately made a prayer request. Gary prayed for her, and we went on about the serious business of eating.
The more I thought about this, the better I liked the idea. I don’t do this every time I eat in a restaurant, but I have done it numerous times since then. I have yet to find a waitress who didn’t appreciate it.
One time when a buddy and I did this in the place where we meet for breakfast, a couple of teenage girls in the next booth noticed. As they got up to leave, one of them mentioned how nice she thought that was. It turned out they were on their way to some youth retreat, and they let us pray for them and their group.
Another time at the same place, our waitress asked us to pray for healing for her ribs. She said they had been extremely painful for several days and she was having trouble standing up straight. We prayed for her and put it out of our minds, but the next time she saw me, she reminded me of that prayer and told me her pain left completely before the day was over.
One of my favorite themes is that you never know what effect a word or act of kindness may have on the life of another. God chooses to work through human vessels, and He can use the smallest effort on our part to accomplish great things in the lives of other. We need to keep ourselves always aware of opportunities to touch others in a positive way.
What small things have you done, or had done for you, that had large beneficial effects?
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David N Walker 
This post gives me major warm fuzzies. I love Gloria’s tradition. I’ve always thought random acts of kindness were less a ‘random’ thing for me and more a ‘this feeds my soul’ kind of thing. I’m going to incorporate Gloria’s secret pact into some future acts. That’s just way cool. Love the story of the waitress with the painful ribs. Recently I was in a funk because I hadn’t heard from my daughter in 10 days. I knew she’d been camping and thought she would only be gone four days. When it stretched out to 10, I started to panic. I sent a message to my WANA sistas and within two hours of asking for their positive vibes and well-wishes, my daughter called. I know it was all that love and positivity. Of course, my daughter was like, What? Why were you so worried? Ugh!
Great post, my friend. Let’s keep the positive vibes and good feelings rolling along.
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Thanks, Tameri. I intend to.
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Prayer, an amazing grace.
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You’re right, Sheri. And you’ve been the answer to my prayers more than once.
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Good idea, Gloria. Thanks.
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Amen, brother
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Thanks, Sharon – and Happy Birthday.
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What a lovely tradition, David. It wouldn’t surprise me if the prayers for one multiplied exponentially as the people you touched reached out to others.
My Acts of Kindness? I usually tell no one about this for fear the telling will negate its altruistic nature. There have been opportunities lobbed my way over the years where I overheard a conversation in which one of my Starbucks baristas had a financial problem. I’ve been blessed to be able to privately hand them cash with a pay-it-forward message. “This is a gift. Not a loan. Someday — when you’re in a better place financially, pay this forward to someone else who needs it.” I swear them to secrecy because it’s a private pledge between the two of us.
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