Service with a Smile

I went to mow my lawn today and, after fighting with my inherited push mower from my sister for about 35 minutes, my next-door neighbor, Mike, asked if he could take a look. After a quick inspection (he's a maintenance man at Cedarville, and I knew this mower wasn't in its prime), he told me the carburetor was falling off, I was missing some bolts, I needed some new wires, probably needed some tubes to make sure the engine got oxygen while it was running... He invited me to join his family on a walk this afternoon up to the corner, where there's a man who repairs mowers. I took him up on it and came inside to rest until it was time to leave.

I heard a mower running outside my living room window, and when I looked out I saw Mike plowing his way across my yard. By the time I got outside to thank him, the neighbor across the street, Scott, was pushing his mower across the street to join Mike. I followed them back to the gate into the backyard, and when I looked up, Steve, my neighbor on the other side of my house was mowing the back!!!!! These 3 men teamed up and in short order had my lawn looking perfectly manicured again.

I was really touched by how these men joined together without being asked to help me out. They served me, met my need, without being asked. They smiled when I said they didn't have to do it and turned their eyes back to their work (which had been my work that they'd taken on themselves). They didn't grumble, didn't look put out, joked around with each other without a touch of sarcasm, and filled the gaps of what the other couldn't do ("Oh, I've got some oil for yours over at the house. Be right back"). As a single woman, it felt so good to be cared for by these men who sought nothing for themselves in return. They define service with a smile. I hope the Lord blesses their generous service with something special in return! What a huge blessing they are! It's a mighty privilege to have Christian neighbors on either side of me and for several houses in a row across the street. You can feel the genuine care they show one another. It makes this neighborhood so pleasant and relaxed.

Oh, and when we took the mower to Merlin, Mike and his 6-year-old son took turns pushing the mower for me so I could visit with Sharon during our walk. They have 3 adopted children, so we talked about how adoption changes you in a positive way forever. Merlin said he can fix the whole thing (everything I mentioned above), plus give it an oil change and sharpen/balance the blades for $50! It'll be ready on Wednesday. All this on top of a wonderful weekend with Miss and Hannah and a fantastic church service this morning has made this a great day. I hope yours has been, too!