That is what our sermon was about yesterday at church, treating your neighbor with kindness and love. It didn't mean your neighbor next door, it meant your neighbor across the ocean or in the next cubicle at work. Your neighbor could be anyone you engage with. I had never looked at it that way. Food for thought. We need to treat all with kindness and respect because we don't know what anyone is dealing with at any given time.

I always appreciate your great questions @A MyBCTeam Member. They make me stop and think like what helping others really mean in my life. I am not perfect, and I know I still have a long way to go, but my faith provides a clear place to stand.

For me personally, I am still learning that helping is not about legacy or being remembered. It grows out of agape love, the kind of love that wills the good of another person simply because God loves us first. That truth is shaping me more than anything else.

Jesus taught us the Greatest Commandment by His example:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind… and love your neighbor as yourself.” That is the center of it for me and my family. Love God. Love others. Look up and look out.

Doing His will is love in action. It is choosing kindness, compassion, and care for someone else’s good. It is not about how my actions reflect on me. It is about how they lift someone else up.

Through the cancer journey, I came to see more deeply how powerful small acts of love can be. A genuine smile and a kind word. A moment of understanding and compassionate empathy. A quiet prayer. A bit of encouragement for someone who is scared or hurting. I believe these small things, at the right time, carry real love into places where it is needed.

It's not that easy (without Him), and this simple reminder helps keep my heart in the right order at times when I forget and drift inward or become a bit self‑serving.:

J – Jesus
O – Others (family and friends, especially the poorest and most marginalized)
Y – You (self-care, the airplane mindset)

JOY isn’t the goal, it’s the by-product of putting things in the right order.

So when I think about how helping others makes a difference, it is not about my legacy or my strength. It is about His strength in me and praying God’s love flow in whatever simple and "imperfect" ways we live out our faith, giving all glory to God!

“If we're not growing, we're dying.” - Anonymous (believe cancer cannot stop what matters most: spiritual healing and growth)

Thanks and God bless everyone. A blessed fifth week of Lent if you're observing.

Romans 8:28 "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God ..."

✝️❤️🙏

Mentioned Users

A MyBCTea...

@A MyBCTeam Member
Thanks for sharing Suzuki’s legacy.

Mentioned Users

A MyBCTea...

Helping someone else makes you feel so much better because it takes very little time, is usually free and it reducess stress and I read today that it may help you live longer. I volunteer a lot because the folks I go see do so much more for me than I could ever do for them. It gives me great joy to help at school or assisted living places and especially at church. You meet wonderful folks who appreciate the smallest bit of anything you do for them. The most incredible feeling in the world is to make someone happy especially if you're having a bit of a bad day. It reduces the stress of an ordinary day. makes you feel so much better and it fills your heart with pure joy!
It's like kindness because it makes everybody feel like they matter and it takes just a small bit of time. We all need.to feel like we matter.

I try to always thank people that are waiting on me by saying thank you for your kindness and patience today....I aways receive a smile, that makes my day.