Monday, October 21, 2013

A Heart For Others

My father’s family came from Russia in the early 1900’s. They had been people of means in Russia, but when they came to the United States they had only the two sets of clothes on their backs. Dad learned to work hard early in his life, and as I look back I remember him as always working very hard. But I also remember him as having a heart for poor people and for those in need.

This story comes to mind.... we had a crab apple tree in the backyard which attracted neighborhood children. They would pick the apples (green crab apples are very hard), throw them and have fights with them. Dad was afraid they would hurt each other or break windows with them. He told them that if they would stop picking them, when they were ripe he would give the apples to them. The children became his friends, and he did give the apples to their family.

Numerous times he helped our neighbors... fixing plumbing, catching moles (he knew just how to set the traps and he got them every time), repairing bicycles or whatever else needed fixing.

But one of his best “works” was mowing a neighbor’s lawn every week in addition to doing our lawn. The couple across the street were both crippled. The man was in a wheel chair, and his wife had had polio. (One of her legs was much shorter than the other). Even though he daily worked physically hard, he never missed doing their lawn. He loved helping them.

The stories are many... he always tried to help others when he saw a need.

“Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”
Philippians 2:4 KJV

© 2012 Arlene Schwartzkopf