Remembering Deeds Of Kindness
Categories: Church of Christ Bulletin ArticlesWouldn’t this be a better world if all of us would remember the many kind deeds which others have selflessly bestowed on us instead of recalling every insult and perceived injustice? The following story is a powerful illustration of such a remembrance:
The legend is told of an Indian boy by the name of Waukewa who once found an eaglet with a broken wing. His first impulse was to send an arrow through its heart, but as the bird looked up at him with frightened eyes, he had compassion on it and spared his life. He put a splint on the bird’s broken pinion and provided him something to eat and drink.
When the boy’s father saw the bird, he immediately insisted that the eaglet be killed, knowing that he might not long survive in a hostile environment without its mother. However, the boy begged his father not to kill him, telling him that he would take care of him. His father yielded, permitting the bird to live, but only on the condition that when the eagle was well, his son was to turn it loose into the wild.
As promised, when the eagle’s wing was fully healed, Waukewa took the captive bird far out into the forest and turned it loose. However, the eagle had so become attached to the boy, that he did not want to leave him. The boy then hid in the forest, and the eagle flew away to an unknown destination.
A year later, Waukewa was with a party of Indians who were fishing in a river connected to a great waterfall. While concentrating on his fishing, his canoe slowly drifted into the rapids. Immediately he seized a paddle and began to pull with all his strength. Unfortunately, the paddle snapped and Waukewa was swept toward the falls. As any Indian was taught to do, he calmly prepared himself to meet certain death.
Suddenly, he heard a piercing scream. Glancing up, he saw a great eagle flying toward him. As it hovered over his head, Waukewa grabbed its legs. As the canoe went over the falls, the eagle floated with him down through the air and landed him gently upon a sand-bar. Looking at the eagle, he recognized him as the bird he had befriended so many years ago by a scar on its wing.
On that day, Waukewa received a blessing, because the eagle had remembered the simple deed of kindness shown to him by Waukewa.
Brethren and friends, like the eagle in the above story, let us forget the slings and insults which have hurt us in the past, and remember the many blessings that have we have received through the kind deeds of others. If we will do this, we will be so busy counting our blessings, we won’t have time to nurse our wounds and feel sorry for ourselves. Like Paul, we will consider our friends and say:
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy” (Philippians 1:3-4 NKJV).
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