When he came home that day, just as it was getting dark he told me how everyone had asked what he would charge for his services and that they were all shocked that he said “Oh, I wasn’t going to charge anything I just wanted to be helpful.”
That night we incorporated his experience into our Bible lesson, and the next morning it had snowed again. It was a weekend and he didn’t have any other responsibilities that day so he put on his snow gear and went out to serve the neighbors. We explained to the children that when we go out to serve expecting a reward we may get nothing at all, but when we go out to serve God will reward us in ways we can’t yet imagine.
After two or three times out he came back really excited one day “MOM!! Someone PAID me! I told them I didn’t need any money but he insisted that if I was going to shovel his driveway he was going to pay me!”
This kind man wasn’t the only one with that in mind; they had seen his diligence and several people gave him money for his hard work. Half way through the day his shovel broke, so he went down to the local hardware store to purchase a new shovel. While there, one of the ladies he had shoveled out saw him and bought it for him instead. He came home just beaming with joy. By the end of the day he had earned over $100.
Pretty soon, every snowfall was a call to action. He never asked for money, but there were several people that paid him. Some people called every time it snowed asking for him. He had a regular little business going. He would tell me “you know mom, when I don’t get money for shoveling I don’t feel disappointed at all because I know that I’m doing something for our neighbors that they can’t do themselves. It’s a really good feeling. Like I’m being the hands and feet of Jesus.”
His hard work was really paying off in more ways than one….for one thing Mr. Responsible has always struggled with his weight, and until this year nothing I said or did motivated him to change his activity level. But as he shoveled the pounds came off. Suddenly I wasn’t looking at a boy anymore I was looking at a young man.
He set in his mind that he would save any money he earned for a hunting bow he’s been wanting for several years. A special bow, by the Matthew’s company. It was called the Craze 2, blue camo colored. http://www.mathewsinc.com/ It’s a bow that “grows” with him by being adjustable so he can hunt with it for many years to come. The bow was expensive though, well over $500.
About the time that he had earned half the money he’d need for this bow he developed asthma. He kept it a secret from me for a while until I watched him nearly collapse one day while doing jumping jacks in the livingroom. For the next month he was told by the doctor he could not go out shoveling. He was devastated.
About the same time, our Pastor wrote about my son’s hard work and servant’s heart attitude in his daily email devotionals. (This is the part of the story we were unaware of until much later)
Pastor’s wife is a real estate agent. She had been showing homes to a man that day and they got to talking. She mentioned the email devotionals and he said “OH yes please sign me up.” The first one he got was about Mr. Responsible working hard to serve the neighbors and earn money for his bow.
This touched the man’s heart so much that he decided to send my son that bow he wanted---with all the bells and whistles too.
Our Pastor emailed me, asking for details about the bow my son wanted but said he couldn’t say why he needed it. Knowing he was up to something, but trusting that I would hear the whole story eventually I gave him the information he wanted.
Three weeks later, a package arrived for my son. Mr. Responsible opened it and it was his bow! It had everything he wanted, the exact color he wanted. And there was a letter, addressed to my son. It was from the president of the Matthew’s Archery Company, Mr. McPherson….he was the man mentioned before. He wrote to my son about being diligent, and how God rewards hard work. He included Bible verses and spoke about how much Mr. Responsible story had touched his heart.
My son was overwhelmed with joy. He could barely walk or speak, we were all in tears. It was a truly amazing thing to be able to see such a tangible answer to his prayer, and a very real reward straight from God for his servant like attitude in wanting to help our neighbors.
We wrote back to Mr. McPherson saying thank you and sending pictures of Mr. Responsible with his new bow.
When Mr. Responsible shared this information with “Dad-Man’s” cousin (who is also Kabuki Warrior’s Personal Care Assistant) he informed us that he has been good friends with Mr. McPherson’s brother for many years. So then, Kabuki Warrior’s PCA text his friend, sending pictures and telling him how much it blessed his heart to see his little cousin so happy. The McPherson brothers text back promising to come out to visit this summer and teach him to shoot it as well.
My son was over the moon.
But the best thing in all of this was that it made the Word of God so very very real to him and the rest of my kids. Mr. Responsible diligence and faithfulness to what God had put in his heart had been given a very tangible reward, drawing him closer to God.
Proverbs 20:11 Even children are known by the way they act, whether their conduct is pure, and whether it is right.
Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
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