Loving Beyond the Norm

It was just another regular work evening at the airport when she met him. He was a college student from Jamaica who came to the States to work for the summer. But he was as lost as a two year old who has strayed from his mommy. It was his first time in Chicago, and he had no phone. He didn’t know where to start his apartment hunting, or how to get to his new job site. So like any lost person, he asked for assistance. However, unlike most, she not only offered directions, but she offered him a place to stay for the night. The next morning, she helped him to find a cheap apartment, took him to activate his phone, and assisted him with finding his job location. She also took his phone number and offered to keep in touch.

It started out being a regular race at the track meet in Trenton, Illinois. This race in particular was the eight hundred meter. All the runners assembled at the starting line, and took off at the sound of the gun. However, for the middle school twin sister Claire and Chloe, the race’s ending was anything but normal. During the race, Chloe sustained a leg injury that crippled her efforts to finish. Claire, instead of choosing to end the race alone, carried her sister on her back for three hundred and fifty of the four hundred meters that was left. She used two words to explain her action. Love and sportsmanship.

Now, if these aren’t examples of love and selflessness, then what is? These are real stories, with real people who made choices that exceeded the expectations of the norm. Not very many will decide to open their homes to a total stranger—no strings attached. Even fewer will decide to lay their drive to win aside in order to share losing with a family member or teammate. It is also important to note the age difference of the individuals who stood out in both instances. The first is an adult woman, while the second is only a middle school student.

Acts of kindness knows no boundaries. Self-sacrificing is a decision that comes from the goodness of one’s heart. Age, financial status, educational background, cultural differences, and the likes are unimportant factors in being our brother’s keeper, and loving others as ourselves. Mark 12:31 reminds us that the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 6:32 gave this simple instruction; “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” I pray that each day we’ll choose to love beyond the norm.