One of the main roads in Altamira             

    It is easy to pass by others in their need.  It really is. 

    My wife and I were driving down the road at 60 mph on our way to lunch together.  I drove right by them.  “Them” was a young couple with a small child walking along the edge of the road, pushing their scooter which had a flat tire.  My wife said something about helping them and I turned around.  When we pulled up beside them, they were both surprised and thankful.  We gave the mother and her child a ride home which was a detuor from our route but one that was well worth it.  It got them out of the midday heat and helped their four year old get lunch more quickly.

    Bonus benefit – when we dropped this young mom and her little son off at their home, we met her sister-in-law, who was an old friend that we hadn’t seen for a few years.  They live out in the bush and it was good to be able to reconnect with a brief visit. 

    When we step out in small ways from our normal routine, usually we reap unexpected rewards.   God uses these moments when we are outside of our predictable pattern of life to speak into our lives, to lead us to new relationships, to open our eyes to new realities, and to soften our hearts with greater compassion.  One thing that we just don’t find in the Gospels is anything that says, “And then Jesus just did pretty much what everyone expected”.  It seems that God’s way is often to touch us when we step outside our self-imposed boundaries and expectations. 

    May God keep us sensitive to where he is guiding and our eyes open to the needs of those around us, even when it seems inconvenient.  

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One of the many children in the Altamira region of Brazil