KEY SCRIPTURE Galatians 6:10

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

RELEVANCE

In my Father of the Groom speech I made at my Son's recent wedding, I gave him a tongue-in-cheek open invitation to drop in and mow my lawns. 

Needless to say, he will consider it from afar. That leaves me mowing them myself unless my wife mows them. However, Heather is doing enough already, as I am on crutches. My back, hip and knee still give me a lot of nerve pain that the drugs reduce, but not by much. 

The lawns are large and needy at the moment, and guess what came out of the blue? A mate of mine suggested that he and another mate come over and mow and whipper-snip. So, last Friday afternoon, they dropped in and got straight work.

Jason had the mower blazing away, with his Bluetooth earphones blasting out his favourite Christian artists, and Clem was shaving the garden beds clean with the Ryobi battery-powered whippersnipper and some weed-pulling. Both of them were hard at it while I crutched around under the pergola wisteria, feeling absolutely useless. 

After about an hour, the jobs were finished. So they downed tools and hooked into the cheese, bickies, and cold drink Heather had prepared. We talked, ate, drank, and laughed for about another hour until it was time for them to leave. After their departure, I hobbled around the lawn areas and thanked God for good friends. 

A week before, they dropped in to help me with my failing side fence. They hammered in some star posts I had purchased and wired them to the fence, giving me another 5 years before replacement. 

About a year ago, when I was again a bit sick, another couple of mates, Paul and John, dropped in and helped me with another part of the fence. Before that, they came around with Tim and Barry to erect a caravan carport in my backyard. I've been a bit sick over the past few years, and I really needed help. Those are the times when mates offer a helping hand. 

We have been so blessed to have these friends so eager to help. Interestingly, they are all part of our men's group, Men's Support Mission. Except for Clem and Barry, whom I knew earlier, I met them all there. 

God loves cheerful givers (2 Corinthians 9:7), and these guys were exactly that.

Love action is to share, and we're privileged to accept it. How much of this kind of love do you share when others are in need? 

PRAYER

Dear Lord, thank you for the help we've received. It takes a lot of weight off my shoulders at a needy time. Thank you for your people.