Be a Blessing from the Lord

Jesus told us that the two greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor. In today's world, we often seem to fall short on both counts. It's almost as if we need daily reminders to get in touch with the "better angels of our nature," to use Abraham Lincoln's term. While there are various ways to do this, I'd like to add one more to the mix: Volume 58 of The Christophers' annual "Three Minutes a Day" book, which features stories, Scripture verses, and short prayers for each day of the year.

What kinds of stories are featured in the book? Here is one example: In 2021, Gean LeVar of Glendale, Arizona, lost her husband of 58 years when he passed away in their home. To make matters worse, the police - after entering the house and seeing how unlivable the conditions were - had no choice but to condemn it. Gean lost her husband and home all in the same day, and she had no family members to help her.

That's when her neighbor, Carmen Silva - who barely knew Gean at the time - stepped in. As reported by CBS News, Carmen told Gean, 'Don't worry. . . . We're going to fix it." Carmen invited Gean to live in her home. Although Carmen's small, three-bedroom house with eight children was already full, the family eagerly made room for one more, treating Gean like an "adopted grandmother." Carmen explained, "I've always taught my kids to take care of their elders." In another expression of neighborly kindness, the nonprofit group Operation Enduring Gratitude, which helps Arizona veterans and their families, heard Gean's story and rebuilt her house, making it livable once more. Gean now plans to share her new home with her adopted family. The Scripture verse that goes along with this story is the obvious choice: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The actions of Carmen toward Gean reflect a divine selflessness that each of us can choose as well. Or, we can emulate the generosity of someone like the subject of this other "Three Minutes a Day" story: For approximately 10 years, on the first of every month, Alabama farmer Hody Childress secretly performed a good deed. He would walk into Geraldine Drugs, a pharmacy in his DeKalb County community, and give a folded up $100 bill to owner Brooke Walker. His instructions? Use the money to help people who couldn't afford their prescriptions. And if anyone asked where the money came from, he told her to say, "It's a blessing from the Lord."

When Childress began experiencing medical problems, he sent a relative to deliver the money to Walker, never telling the relative what exactly it was meant for. His acts of kindness were only revealed after Childress passed away at age 80 in 2023. Walker told AL.com that she used the money "to help children needing Epi-Pens for allergic reactions, families in between insurance coverages, and people just leaving the hospital." Childress's family and friends are working to establish a fund in his name to continue the practice.

Each of us can be "a blessing from the Lord" for others. Of course, sometimes we need blessings ourselves, and "Three Minutes a Day" also contains numerous stories about people dealing with the challenges and tragedies of life with help from their faith.

This essay is a recent "Light One Candle" column by Tony Rossi, Director of Communications, The Christophers; it is one of a series of weekly columns that deal with a variety of topics and current events.

Background information:

The Christophers