As I paged through the Lenten devotional and glanced through the words that were upcoming, this one caught my eye as odd. Then, I read the reading for today and it all became clear.

The Sheep and the Goats
³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25:31-40

This is one of my favorite Bible passages. This is what I strive to do and this is what I hope to teach my children as they grow up. It’s hard in today’s world to 1) not get caught up in the craziness that is our reality each day, 2) to identify those people around us and 3) stop and do what needs to be done. And the best is when you do all of that in mere seconds because it’s second nature to you. I wish I could say that happens often, but I do try.

I think my profession lends itself right into this passage. How often do I see kids who haven’t eaten breakfast? Kids who I know didn’t sleep last night? Kids who I know don’t have a home? Kids I know who need a little extra TLC because I know their worlds are turned upside down at home? The list goes on. I joke that you can’t make this stuff up each day in a middle school, but that’s often our way of coping with all the needs that are around us.

There are a few times that really stick in my head of when I did this for others, but then I got to thinking of all the times people did that for me. The one that sticks in my head the most was the week that my mother-in-law passed away. It was also pre-school workshop week. I missed the whole week. Thankfully, I had worked a 12 hour day in my room the week before, but my friends and colleagues stepped in to ensure that my room was ready for students on the first day. They even copied things I would need that 1st day. I was humbled. I walked in on the 1st day of school with the students. Weirdest start to a school year ever. I was so thankful for my friends. It still makes me tear up.

But, the more I got to thinking, it’s not even the “big things” in this passage. It goes along with what I teach my kids. You never know anyone else’s story; for every one is fighting a battle. So, even the simplest smile, “Good morning!” or a “How are you today?” can make a huge difference in someone’s life. Holding open a door, picking up papers that were dropped, a cup of coffee, a warm hug, a simple smile. They all work! The best thing is that we don’t know what works for each person. So, try them all. All the time! It’s amazing just walking down a hallway in the morning and saying “Good morning!” to everyone you pass puts an extra bounce in your step. It also could have helped any of those people know that people care.

I could go on and on with this one. It really is one of my pillars of my beliefs. This is one of my truths. It defines the person I want to be.

My photo today will be a link back to a post from Summer 2017. I started Project Gratitude with my kids. Click on THIS LINK to read what we were up to back then. It makes me heart smile.

The prayer for tonight is: Compassionate God, you care for our needs without a second thought. Help us reach beyond ourselves to touch the lives of those who need love and compassion more than we’ll ever know. In Jesus’ name. Amen