Acts That Touched Others Part 2: Examples

Two weeks ago, you were asked to participate in this project. The general outline of what is being sought was presented (Click here if you missed it). Some of you seemed ready. Some of you are asking questions. Questions like;

• What kind of stories?
• What should they say?
• How long should they be?
• Do I need to reveal who I’m talking about?
• How much information should I provide?

All good questions so I thought I’d give a few examples. For the most part, these are fictional. But each of these would be considered the ‘IT’ referred to in the last writing.



Sunday Dinner.

The speaker reveals that his childhood Sunday was pretty much set in stone. Chores in the morning while mom cooked dinner. A quick change into Sunday's best followed by running out the door to church in a small college town. A bit of fellowship afterward at which time, mom would invite a few students to dinner. They were, after all, away from family and rarely had home-cooked meals. Probably hundreds of these ‘strangers’ were fed while enjoying each other’s company over the years. And today, all grown up now, this speaker still hears from the invited guests. Some even stayed in school because they didn’t feel so lonely, eventually graduating to pursue amazing careers. The '"IT" of a bright future is his mother's Sunday dinner invitation.

Credit Card Terminals

A grocery line mid-week. The speaker got ‘caught’ at a time when there was a bus outside the door of the store. The bus came from the nursing home down the street for a once-every-two-weeks excursion. Everything in the store was busy and . . .SLOW.  This was especially true for the check-out lines. Not many of these customers were great with technology and the credit card terminal was difficult for them. But one young cashier, having more patience than a church full of saints, assisted each person with the process. Friends from the nursing home were pleased as it took away anxiety and frustration - they never seemed to get it right on their own. Customers waiting in line were pleased because the queue moved much faster. It seemed the cashier was pleased to help as well. "Just part of the job", she says. Is "IT"?

Wheelchair Access

Sunday morning and the service is about to start. But there’s a bit of commotion in the back. A single mom, her two kids and a friend had pulled up to the door in a van. They began the process of exiting the vehicle. This mom works at a residence for mobility-impaired people. She’s pretty much a nine-to-fiver but on Sunday morning, she rises at 4:00 AM. She prepares dinner. She wakes the children and gets them ready to leave at 7:00 AM. She drives her car 10 miles to her work-place, but, of course, she’s not scheduled on Sunday.

Mom and her tribe spend a couple of hours helping the residents get ready. One at time, wheelchairs are rolled through the halls to the van and one at a time, are lifted into the vehicle. By 9:30 AM, she’s usually ready to drive the van another 5 miles to church. It’s there that the commotion begins as they process down to the very front of the church where wheelchair seating is available. When the service is over, it’s time to do it again. But this time, the first stop is a home-cooked meal. After cleaning up the kitchen it is time to pack up and return to the residence.

A busy working mom spends her whole day getting 4 wheel-chair bound people to church; people who would not have the opportunity otherwise.  It’s a donation of extreme and one of heart. Do you think this might qualify as ‘IT’?

OK – so now you see what I'm looking for. The stories are short and names are not required (that will come later).

Please keep your eyes open. Please spend a few moments to write and submit one of these ‘found’ stories. Don't wait for someone else to do this as every story is critically important. Don't tell yourself you'll do it on the weekend or after the holidays or maybe in January when there's more time. The time is right now. Will you help?

Yes, the whole thing is a bit cryptic still, but I promise it will be worth it. It will be worth it for those at the center of these stories. It will be worth it for those who see and hear about these stories. And, make no mistake, it will be worth it for you.  TEST ME.

How to Submit a Story

Please Click This Link.  It will take you directly to the form.

Update:  Unfortunately, someone has found this page and continues to spam it on a regular basis.  I have thus been forced to cancel the link.  Please feel free to respond in the comment section and correspondence can resume at that level.  My apologies.

If you're not comfortable just clicking links from a blog post, please search "SandalsAndAStick" for the direct link from a search engine. Then, in the row starting with "Home" just under the blog description, open "Acts that Touched Others"

Feel free to use the form if you have any questions.

In advance of your assistance, I am so very grateful for your participation.
Mike