A Kind Act

I was in downtown Chicago yesterday and it was a beautiful day. Every time I venture down there I am always amazed by the look of the city...the high-rise buildings, the parks and gardens, museums, Lake Michigan, etc. What an incredible blessing to live by such a remarkable city. And even though there is traffic and smoke and whatnot, there is so much good there. One thing in particular left an impression on me. I was walking down Michigan Avenue and in front of me there was a woman who looked in very bad shape. She was in a wheelchair and was missing teeth and was holding a cup. It is sometimes easy to dismiss these people as they are not uncommon in the city, and I often struggle with what to do when I pass them. Having lived in China where the homeless and lame grab at your clothes, and it's impossible to help every single one of them, I tend to rationalize not helping, which is very wrong of me. But there was in front of me, a kind person who stopped to talk to this woman. She smiled as she gave her a sandwich from Subway and even slipped some extra money into this woman's hand. She said "Good to see you!" as she walked away, which made me think she has befriended this person or at least seen her before. What a great thing! It made me want to show love to all those who are alone or suffering in some way. Heavenly Father truly has put us on this earth to help each other and how peaceful and comforted do we feel when we help and when we receive help. I am thankful for this example of love and kindness!