There is a man I know that is gruff, bold and in spoken word very brash and confrontational.

One day he was driving on a country dirt road close to his home with his wife. As they were driving they saw that a neighbour had driven a tractor into a ditch. There was no end of expletives from the man, statements of judgement and all else that goes with a man trained in the armed forces where actions are drilled into a person in ways perhaps not so healthy for their spirit or psyche. He stopped his little truck and got out and walked down over the hill to where the tractor and its driver were stuck in the ditch.

“What the f..k are you doing driving your tractor into the ditch?” could be heard by his wife from atop the hill in the truck. The cringe from the driver of the tractor could be felt from a distance.

Yet, without another word he assisted the older man get his tractor out of the ditch, making sure that the tractor started properly and that the old man was able to operate before heading back up the hill.

“Be careful” the parting words of the mouthy man who stopped and helped a fellow man in distress.

Sometimes even though rough words are spoken, the actions speak much louder and the light shines through with much brilliance.  Here a Divine action from a man who uses words to disguise the generous and helpful divine nature in his soul - a good Samaritan.

© T.S. (Tim) White

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