When a wooden board from our neighbor’s worn out, sun beaten, brittle fence fell down, I observed my independent, proactive, and service-oriented youngest son gathering up essential tools—a handheld battery powered drill, a hammer, screws, and nails—to repair their fence. All on his own, he took it upon himself and was desirous to fix their fence for them.
From the sidelines, it was a tender mercy for me to have seen him in action, the joy in his demeanor, and smile on his face as he was a willing and cheerful good Samaritan, serving our neighbors.
In the process of his working to drill the board back in place, I overheard the wife, who while attending to their dogs in their backyard and realizing someone was on the other side of their fence, curiously and gently ask, “Excuse me, may I help you?” to which my son confidently replied, “I just noticed that one of your fence pieces was broken and I am fixing it so it doesn’t fall again”. She responded, “You are amazing!” A few minutes later her husband came out to assist and eventually she also came out again with their young daughter and expressed gratitude, appreciation, and admiration for my son’s sweetness in helping them in the way he did.
This interaction, in and of itself was a tremendous tender mercy too as my son and I met this amazing and friendly family for the first time since they moved in, surprisingly 2 years earlier. Although I was thoroughly embarrassed and apologetic that our welcoming them to our neighborhood was long overdue, attributing it to our comings and goings and differing schedules, it was a blessing that through my son’s act of service, this opportunity to introduce ourselves to one another occurred.
When have you experienced the joy of observing your child(ren) taking the initiative to help and serve others all on their own? And/or through a a direct or indirect involvement in a service opportunity, you met an amazing new friend(s)?
tendermercym❤️ments~jld
“How have you noticed Heavenly Father’s awareness and mindfulness of you today?”
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