A kind answer
    soothes angry feelings,
but harsh words
    stir them up.

I’d like to share how Reverend Kevin displayed the love of God several times in just one week. With the holidays behind us, who knew we were in for a major snowstorm? Many states received at least a foot of snow, followed by a layer or two of ice. Businesses, schools, and churches shut down for at least one week. Digging our vehicles out and shoveling our sidewalks turned out to be extremely difficult and dangerous due to the amount of snow and ice received.

On our street, families live on both sides, but parking is only allowed on one side. Also, two-way driving is permitted. These factors alone on a hot summer day can be nerve-racking. Add freezing weather conditions; a nightmare. For the most part, people either pulled over to let another car pass from the opposite direction, but with the wintry weather conditions, sometimes the driver has to drive in reverse to allow the other car to pass. This current situation happened to Kevin twice in just a couple of days. His truck had finally been dug out, but the vehicle needed a jumpstart. Several drivers kindly put their vehicles in reverse and continued a different way. On each of these two days, Kevin experienced two different drivers. The first one insisted that Kevin move the car, giving the hotshot. His truck had not yet kept the charge. So, Kevin unhooked the cables and moved the car. Thank the Lord, he did finally get his truck started. The following day, Kevin needed to unload some food from the back of his truck. Once again, due to the mountain of snow, he was blocking traffic. A lady started fussing and even took pictures.

Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. Proverbs 12:25 NIV

In each of these situations, Kevin acted in a kind manner. In the first one, he moved his vehicle out of the way, and in the second one, he saw that the woman behind his truck parked a little way down our street. He spoke softly and asked if she would like some of the prepared frozen foods he had on the back of his truck. She was confused and thought he was selling them. “Not at all,” he said. “I am a minister and run a food pantry. These were donated. You can have some if you like.” She ended up taking a couple of boxes; her spirit was lightened.

“Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you” Ephesians 4:32 Amplified Bible.