So yesterday, I went for a run with my sister.  I hadn’t been on the road for a few months so I was feeling the impact of my lack of fitness quite strongly.  Anyway, she’s running a few metres ahead of me and I’m trying to catch up.  Halfway through the run/walk, I notice a mini substation across the road with one door wide open.  I consider closing it but I’ve found my rhythm and don’t want to interrupt it.  ‘What’s the big deal?’ I ask myself.  Then immediately the Holy Spirit asks ‘What if a child sees it open, starts playing with the cables and dies?’  ‘Dies, Lord? That’s rather extreme’  I think.  Regardless, I veer off my path, make a semi-uturn back to the mini-sub and close the door.  It didnt take long, say 10 seconds, but as I resume my run I consider that the ‘child’ will never know that a random stranger saved their life by taking a 10 second detour.  Is a child’s life not worth much more than losing 10 seconds of my time?  Is a person’s life not worth much more than a portion of my time.  Whatever that portion may be.  It brought home how we sometimes lose perspective on what’s really important.  Life is important.  Relationships are important.  People, whether we know them or not, are important.

We’ve all heard how we should give credit to people before they’re in the grave.  What’s the point of winning awards that you can’t receive and receiving honour when you are not alive to hear the words spoken.  Well, how about looking at it this way.  What if noone ever notices your good deeds?  What if noone ever says ‘Thank you’ for all that you do?  What if your existence on this earth today, is the result of someone’s 10 second detour?

Knowing that noone will ever know about a good deed should not stop me or any of us from doing the right thing. This world is better because of every person who goes out of their way to be kind to another.  To speak a word of encouragement.  To pick up litter on the street.  To clean a dirty basin in a public bathroom.  To make an unsafe situation safe.

The world is a better place because of every ‘unknown hero’.

We are Inspired by the Holy Spirit, created to reflect the image and glory of Almighty God to all we encounter.