Lucas McKenzie woke at 6:00 Saturday morning. The bedroom was still dark. As much as Lucas would have enjoyed staying in bed a little longer, he was too accustomed to getting up early, especially when he had a busy day full of activities ahead. With eyes half opened, he rolled over and kissed his wife Kaitlin on the cheek, and sprung upright like a rocket upon receiving the scare of his life. In return for the kiss on the cheek he gives his wife upon waking up every morning, Lucas received a yucky, wet slobbering kiss in return, along with a blast of morning breath so pugnant it could have set off the fire alarm. If that wasn’t bad enough, whoever was in the bed next to him that he just kissed had a beard. His heart skipped a few beats as his eyes popped wide open. His voice was a few decibels higher than normal as he said – “What in the world is the dog doing in our bed?”
Kaitlin, still half asleep, but awake enough to sense what happened, had a little giggle in her voice as she said “good morning dear, do I still get my morning kiss or would you rather kiss the dog again?” She told her husband she was convinced he could sleep through a category five hurricane and the storm they had last night sure sounded like one. The wind was fierce, and when a clap of thunder rattled every window in the house, she counted to ten. Kaitlin said she wasn’t halfway there before their children and their dog came running and jumped into bed with them.
Lucas had a little smirk on his face when he said, “Well the kids can stay but their big ole dog Bear had to go.” He said he was relieved she was still the same lovable wife he loved and woke up next to every morning, giving her a kiss on the cheek this time. He laughed when he said at least her morning breath was a “little” better than the dog. Kaitlin grabbed the pillow and gave him a swat with it as they both were laughing now! Their children woke up, saw what was happening, and couldn’t resist joining the pillow fight with their parents.
After a few minutes of fun and laughter, Lucas got up and went outside to see if there was any storm damage. About a dozen shingles had been blown off the roof. He drove to the local hardware store, came back home and went to work.
That evening, the family went to the Barnwell’s farm for the Saturday night get together. After Lucas told Bobby Lee, owner of the Rockton Street Market, about his day and what happened to him while he was repairing the roof, Bobby Lee smiled, and insisted Lucas tell these stories to everyone before the evening was over.
Everyone was laughing when he told about his morning kiss. Then he told the following. Lucas said he had finished nailing down the last shingle on the house and was starting to get onto the ladder when it slid and went crashing to the ground. He was about to fall off the roof but was able to grab on the rain gutter. Here he was two stories off the ground, knowing full well if he did not hold on with both hands and all his strength, the fall would be devastating, At that very moment a man was walking past his house. Lucas yelled to him – “Hey, would you do me a favor?” – the man’s reply – “What kind of favor?”
Everyone laughed in disbelief. Hmm, how many guesses did he need, they asked, still laughing at such a ridiculous response. How could anyone be that oblivious, someone asked. Ashlin said she not only felt they could be, she knew they could be seeing how so many of her friends and people she encounters every day are so absorbed by their “I” phones and social media, it is as if the world around them doesn’t exist. She said it was like living in a world of robots with their “control” device always in the hand. Well, this experience wasn’t funny to Lucas then, but he could laugh now, especially since he was able to get the man to see his plight and set his ladder back up before he fell.
By keeping our minds on the Lord and having a servant’s heart, letting our good works be a testimony to our faith in Christ, not only should we jump at the chance to do someone a favor that is within our ability and of the Lord’s will, we should be looking for ways to serve others before being asked. Instead of what can you do for me today, asking others what can I do for you today will make you a blessing and answer to prayer to someone.
James 2:17 – “Thus also faith by itself if it does not have works is dead.”
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