Give like it’s Christmas, even in July

On the morning of a Christmas Eve several years ago, my son and I went for a run in East Kelowna. I called it my “make room for turkey run.” On a deserted stretch of road, I heard a vehicle approaching from behind, so we moved over to let it pass. Instead of passing us, it slowed down, then pulled even with us and finally stopped.

Based on experience, I assumed it would be somebody looking for directions. When people see you running in a neighborhood, they automatically assume you know the area, which is not always a safe assumption.

Rather than ask for directions, however, the driver put down his window, handed me a couple lotto tickets, said, “Merry Christmas,” and took off leaving me with my jaw hanging open.

Scratching the tickets later at home, I discovered I’d won $500. Actually, I didn’t, I’m just messing with you, but that would sure make a great story wouldn’t it? The preacher winning the lottery. You would have thought it was rigged.

Years have passed and I occasionally still reflect on that experience.

To the best of my knowledge, the man in the truck didn’t know me and he certainly didn’t know I would be running around East Kelowna that morning.

Rather, he was driving around just looking for someone to bless and I happened to be the target. What a concept. When I was a kid growing up, in church there was an old hymn we used to sing. I haven’t sung it or thought about it in decades, but in a heartbeat out in East Kelowna, it came rushing back to me.

It was a prayer that someone set to music. It went like this: “Out in the highways and byways of life, many are weary and sad. Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife, making the sorrowing glad. Make me a blessing. Make me a blessing. Out of my life may Jesus shine. Make me a blessing, O Saviour I pray. Make me a blessing to someone today.”

I doubt that old hymn will make a comeback any time soon, but I’ve got much brighter hopes for the concept behind it.

What would it take, next time you and a group of your friends are wondering what activity to engage in for the evening, to make it a “blessing evening?”

Get together for coffee and creatively dream and scheme how you might bless someone and then go out and do it.

What would it take for you to name one day each week as “blessing day” and go through the day looking for someone to bless in a meaningful way?

What would it take to stock your vehicle with some small instrument of blessing, be it a nutrition bar, a Timmy’s gift card or some other expression of kindness, and then drive prepared to bless someone?

How about buying a dozen roses and finding a dozen elderly ladies in a seniors complex and blessing them. It may have been years since anyone gave them a rose.

I recently did some study on the life of St. Paul and noticed how often the arrows of his life were pointed outward toward others rather than inward to his own self-interest. He had a blessing mindset.

Most parents are deeply gratified when they notice their little ones learning to share. It is a mark of maturity to shift from a mindset of “mine” to one focused on others.

Imagine how our Heavenly Father would smile if he noticed a whole community moving through life seeking to be a blessing to others.

I know it’s July, but Merry Christmas anyway.

Tim Schroeder is a pastor at Trinity Baptist Church.