We
throw out spoiled milk when it starts to smell sour. I
ate some cheese in my eggs one morning and had to stop after two bites. The cheese
had a shelf-life that had gone by. Fresh
foods have a shelf-life. They are good
for a time, and then, kaput!
Do
my words and actions have a shelf-life?
Maya
Angelou thinks so. She says this:
I
can relate. Can you?
When
I was 7 years old, I was at my brother’s baseball game one Thursday night when
our neighbor, Folk Lambert, came up to me and said, “Hey Mike. Come here. I want to give you something.”
He
reached into his pocket and handed me a shiny fifty-cent piece. I thought I had won the lottery. I enjoyed a Moon Pie and an RC Cola,
and then topped it all off with a Snicker’s candy bar. In fifteen
minutes the fifty-cents were gone. But
the memory still lingers sixty years later.
Folk
was our neighbor. I knew his sons. And for one moment in time he did a deed that
I’ve never forgotten. It wasn’t rocket
science. It didn’t move the world off
its axis. He simply recognized me for an
instant and gave me more than fifty-cents.
He gave me esteem.
I
once was given $3000 anonymously. It was
a dreary time in my life when the bills were due and I was in a dark spot. I have never forgotten the time and date when
handed that envelope (which I have kept), with those bills inside. I cried.
I was a grown man and I cried.
Do
good deeds have a shelf-life?
You
bet they do.
What
good deeds have come your way in days gone by?
How often do you recall them and what kind and esteeming thoughts dart
through your mind when you reminisce on that moment?
Perhaps
we can pass this idea along. Perhaps
there is someone who will cross your path today and you can do one simple act
of good will, and that act or kind word will mark them for life – in a good
way. Your good deed just might take on its
own FOREVER shelf-life!
Now
wouldn’t that be something.
Words of Hope
Encouragement Inspiration
One Word at a Time
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