A Simple Grand Gesture

God has begun to change our family by revealing to us that His love can be shown to others in even the smallest way. When Outlive Your Life was first introduced to our church, we assumed we would have to find some grand gesture to truly outlive what God wanted to do in our lives, but we found out that His plan for us.

One cold winters night just before Renewal, our family was eating dinner at a local restaurant. Our waitress was a very sweet young lady who took her job seriously by providing excellent customer service. We had been to this particular place a few times in the past and had gotten to know her well. She came to the table to ask my husband for some advice on the best type of space heater to buy for her home. She had three children and her home had been cold and the boys had recently been sick due to their situation. My husband talked her through the options and she thanked him and walked away while we finished our dinner.

When we had finished eating my husband reached in his pocket for a tip and came up empty handed. I didn't have any money either. We called her to our table to tell her that we would bring it back shorty. She said, “Don’t worry about it, you can leave it the next time you are here.” We got in the car and headed out of the parking lot. Both of us just sort of looked at each other and said, “Heater.” So, we headed to Wal-Mart, already running late for church. We got a small heater and a small card.

We went back to the restaurant and took the heater in to her. When she opened the card she got teary eyed. In the card I had written, “I hope this heater will keep you as warm as God’s love.”  The following Sunday as we were walking from worship service to the choir room, a lady grabbed my husband’s arm. She had tears in her eyes as she thanked him for what we had done for her daughter and her children. As it turns out, this family attends church at Pinelake.

God showed us that we can grow, go and give right here in our own hometown with our neighbors and outlive our lives in ways we might have overlooked — grand or simple.

by Howard and Stephanie Wilson, Pinelake Reservoir