I would like to share a story with you this week about how God uses us for his purpose. A lot of times we don’t know why God has us to do something until after we do it. I hope you enjoy this story “Can Kindness Change A Life?” Author unknown.
Can Kindness Change A Life?
Beth is sitting at a busy airport terminal waiting to board her flight. She was sitting there with several other people who were also waiting, whom she did not know.
As she waited, she pulled out her Bible and started reading. All of a sudden she felt as if the people sitting there around her were looking at her. She looked up, but realized that they were looking just over her head, in the direction right behind her.
She turned around to see what everyone was looking at, and when she did, she saw a stewardess pushing a wheelchair, with the ugliest old man sitting in it, that she had ever seen before. She said he had this long white hair that was all tangled and such a mess. His face was really, really wrinkled, and he didn’t look friendly at all.
She didn’t know why, but she felt drawn to the man, and thought at first that God wanted her to witness to him. In her mind she said she was thinking, “Oh, God, please, not now, not here.”
No matter what she did, she couldn’t get the man off of her mind, and all of a sudden she knew what God wanted her to do. She was supposed to brush this old man’s hair.
She went and knelt down in front of the old man, and said “Sir, may I have the honor of brushing your hair for you?”
He said “What?”
She thought, “Oh great, he’s hard of hearing.” Again, a little louder, she said, “Sir, may I have the honor of brushing your hair for you?”
He answered, “If you are going to talk to me, you are going to have to speak up,I am practically deaf.”
So this time, she was almost yelling, “Sir may I please have the honor of brushing your hair for you?”
Everyone heard her and was watching to see what his response would be. The old man just looked at her confused, and said “Well, I guess if you really want to.”
She said, “I don’t even have a brush, but I thought I would ask anyway.”
He said, “Look in the bag hanging on the back of my chair, there is a brush in there.”
So she got the brush out and started brushing his hair. She has a little girl with long hair, so she has had lots of practice getting tangles out, and knew how to be gentle with him. She worked for a long time, until every last tangle was out.
Just as she was finishing up, she heard the old man crying, and she went and put her hands on his knees, kneeling in front of him again looking directly into his eyes and said, “Sir, do you know Jesus?”
He answered, “Yes, of course I know Jesus. You see, my bride told me she couldn’t marry me unless I knew Jesus, so I learned all about Jesus, and asked Him to come into my heart many years ago, before I married my bride.”
He continued, “You know, I am on my way home to go and see my wife. I have been in the hospital for a long time, and had to have a special surgery in this town far from my home. My wife couldn’t come with me, because she is so frail herself.”
He said, “I was so worried about how terrible my hair looked, and I didn’t want her to see me looking so awful, but I couldn’t brush my hair, all by myself.”
Tears were rolling down his cheeks, as he thanked Beth for brushing his hair. He thanked her over and over again.
She was crying, people all around witnessing this were crying, and as they were all boarding the plane, the stewardess, who was also crying, stopped her, and asked, “Why did you do that?”
And right there was the opportunity, God opened the door to share the love of God and Jesus with someone else.
We don’t always understand God’s ways, but be ready. He may use us to meet the need of someone else, like He met the need of this old man, and in that moment, also calling out to a lost soul who needed to know about His love.
Author Unknown
Such a powerful story. God was at work using Beth to accomplish His will. God did not tell Beth His plan, He just asked her to do one thing at a time.
Let’s take a closer look at this story…
1. We find Beth, a servant of God, reading and reinforcing her faith in God by reading the Bible. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
2. God speaks to her and even though she didn’t want to witness to the old man, she followed God’s direction. 1 John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” She acted to do the will of God. She went to brush his hair.
3. She tried to quietly brush his hair, but that was not God’s plan. To get permission to brush his hair, she had to shout because he was almost deaf. Of course now she had everyone’s attention. She brushed his hair.
4. God answered the old man’s prayers. He knew his hair was a mess, But he was unable to fix it without help. Jesus told us in Mark 11:24, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” If you ask and believe, no matter how big or how small the request might be… God will hear & answer!
5. Everyone at the airport terminal saw what took place and it touched their hearts. It is important for us Christians to remember we are being watched by others. Matthew 5:16 tells us, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
6. Finally, when she least expected it, She was able to tell the stewardess about the Love of God. 2 Timothy 4:2 says, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” We are to be prepared at ALL times to witness. This brings us back to the first point… She was reading the Bible before all of these events started. She was preparing!
In closing, I want to ask you a question. If you were in the same place as Beth, Would you be able to do what she did? Does God direct your actions? Maybe you have lost communication with the Lord. Maybe God has never been a part of your life.
Maybe you have never believed and trusted in God. Or maybe you have believed in God, but the world has started to replace God and put some doubt in your life. If this sounds like you, it’s time to put your spiritual life in order, and there is no better time than now.
Please… if you don’t know Christ or have fallen away please pray… Tell God you believe His Son Jesus paid for your sins and rose again. Tell God you are sorry and want to start Living for Him. He will forgive your sins and mistakes and give you Everlasting Life with Him… and place His Spirit deep within your heart. In 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I pray that God will truly Help and Bless you. If you would like for me to pray with you, please email me at Bob.L@magnificentPromises.com.
May God Bless and Keep!
I thank you for reading my blog. I do not claim to be any expert or affiliated with any religious organization. All I can say is that I’m affiliated with my Lord Jesus Christ. This is one man’s opinion and observations. My hope is I stirred up some thoughts for you to think about. There is one place where we can find all the answers to life. That road map is Commonly known as the Bible. If you want the answers to life all you have to do is read. If you would like me to pray with you or want to send a comment please email me at Bob.L@magnificentpromises.com
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
stewardess pushing a wheelchair, with the ugliest old man sitting in it, that she had ever seen before. She said he had this long white hair that was all tangled and such a mess. His face was really, really wrinkled, and he didn’t look friendly at all.