Because it’s the right thing to do.

Yesterday was a big step. Another big step. A big life step for us, for Tayler and for Derek. We loaded up and moved them to Jamestown. University of Jamestown, Jamestown, North Dakota. Second year for Tayler, so the emotions were a little more in check than last year. In fact, Facebook reminded me of last year. All the emotions flooded back of us walking away as Tayler sat crying in her room. The hardest thing as a parent is watching the pain of your child and not being able to help. For us, that day, we had to walk away because it was the right thing to do. 

We got to Jamestown late morning and unloaded the trailer. After getting unloaded and going to lunch, we then took Tayler and Derek to Walmart to help them to get their apartment set up because it was the right thing to do. We got the car all loaded and were heading back to the apartment. On the corner, there sat a person in a wheelchair and a sign. A sign. Many signs, other than the cardboard one he was holding, were being shown. 

Opportunities to do the right thing are always present. We just have to open our eyes to them. We have to open our hearts to them. Because it’s the right thing to do. We have to listen for the knocking. We have to answer the door. Because it’s the right thing to do. 

I have to admit I was being a little bit cynical. There are so many scammers out there. You just never know. But what if he wasn’t a scammer? I have work to do on myself. My husband, on the other hand, has the biggest heart. He passed that on to Tayler. I am grateful I get to witness it on the daily. 

But, something was telling us we should stop. Something. The right thing to do. It was pretty much a collaborative decision. We all decided we needed to stop and give him some money. Tayler was driving so the turn around took way longer than it should have. She has a strange sense of direction. You know I couldn’t let that one go Tayler! LOL. 

We finally got back around and pulled up to the curb. The man sitting on the corner. The man with an artificial leg. The man with the cardboard sign. The sign indicated he was a Vet. The man who looked broken. The man whose pride was being tested. The man sitting on a corner in a wheelchair with a sign. The man who looked broken. The man. 

John only had a 10, I gave him another 20. He got out and walked up to the man and handed him the money. The look on the man’s face instantly brought tears to my eyes. The shocked look on his face. The gratitude in his eyes. The tears forming, the words forming. The emotions, so real, so true. The heart, so real, so true. 

We drove away, feeling good. We answered the knock on the door. We answered God’s knock. 

Be kind to people. Because it’s the right thing to do.