221: An Act of Kindness Remembered Decades Later

You never know how an act of kindness will be remembered with fondness many decades later. It reminds us that when we are kind, it’s because God made us that way. Today’s episode is an example of how this works.

Welcome to You Were Made for This

But first  - I’m John Certalic and you are listening to episode 221 of You Were Made for This, the podcast about reflecting the character, image, and likeness of God. It’s what enables us to enjoy being the unique person he created each of us to be.

In today’s show we pick up where we left off last time in episode 220. In that episode I explained how it seems like everyone has a podcast these days, but most of them are ones I wouldn’t want to listen to. I want to listen to a podcast that is warm and inviting. One that inspires me to think and feel. Something positive and engaging. That’s what I would like. and I know some of you feel the same way.

So, in 2018, I created “You Were Made for This.”  For the first 219 episodes, the THIS I talked about was finding joy in relationships God has in mind for us. Moving forward, with season 9, I still value this direction, but I want to expand upon this theme of relationships, specifically in our relationship with God, and how that impacts all our relationships.

The focus of season 9 of our podcast

It starts with the fundamental truth that all of us are created in the image and likeness of God. On our better days, we reflect his character. And we experience joy when we do so. It’s what we’re made for. Ware made for this.

I love to see and hear examples of people doing this well, and I’m guessing you do as well. With that in mind, the format for season 9 will feature stories of individuals reflecting the character of God in ways that inspire the rest of us to do the same. 

I’m staying away from “how-to” lists or other directives. Less telling and more showing.  Showing examples of people reflecting the image and likeness of god in their daily ordinary lives.  There will be stories you and I can relate to, where we may say to ourselves, “I think I could do that. I think I would enjoy relating to people, as shown in the story. Yeah, I’d like to give that a try.

I ended last week’s episode, no. 220, with an article from The Wall Street Journal. It’s a great feel-good story because the characters in it reflect God's image and likeness, specifically his kindness.

In today’s episode I want to discuss how the people in the story set an example of what we are made for. But first, I’ll read Stacey Graham’s piece  entitled “My Brother’s Hero and a Stranger’s Kindness.” And then I’ll comment at the end. 

My brother’s hero and a stranger’s act of kindness

“My father, a high school football, basketball, and baseball coach, loved baseball player Willie Mays. He even named one of our cats after his favorite athlete.

“Every August throughout the 1960s he would pile my sister and me into the car at 4:30 am and drive us from our small town of 1500 in rural Oregon to Candlestick Park in San Fransisco, where we would watch the Giants - and the great Willie Mays in his prime - play a Friday night game. The trip of 952 miles took us more than nine hours. We were always so excited.

“We had a routine. After the game, we always stayed in the same nearby hotel and ate all our meals at the same diner. We would always head back to the park for the Saturday doubleheader. It was thrilling to see Willie hit home runs in person rather than on our black-and-white TV.

“Our younger brother - Fritz - who liked his father loved Willie - didn’t join us until he turned 5 and was deemed old enough. If he had been any more excited the first time we brought him along, he might have exploded.

Enjoying the innocence of childhood

“That Saturday morning in 1969, we stopped as usual at the diner for breakfast. Fritz noticed, in a booth near the front door, two gray-haired black men having coffee. My brother, having grown up in a place with no racial diversity, had never encountered anyone black in person.

“Suddenly, Fritz ran screaming