I awoke and peaked out my front window last week and was genuinely surprised to find my drive almost completely clear of the six-seven inches of snow that had fallen since the previous afternoon.
I had a pretty good idea who the “snow blower angel” must have been.
Some of that snow must have drifted because the snow line was more like eight or nine inches high along the sides of the drive. The do-gooder even ventured into the street and cleared a space for the mailman to maneuver his vehicle in front of my mailbox.
This wasn’t the first time the snow blower angel had done this. In two lesser snows earlier in the season, my drive had been bladed. I didn’t hear the machine, and the work was all completed by the time I woke up and looked out.
Later in the evening, I called my neighbor across the street, pretty sure he had done the good deed yet another time. When his wife answered the phone, I asked to speak to the snow blower angel. She chuckled and called Sonny to the phone.
Yes, he had been the early morning neighborly neighbor, he admitted. He goes to work pretty early, he said, so he was up at 4 a.m. blowing the snow off his driveway. He still had some time and cleared our drive, then went next door to do the same for another neighbor. I was even more impressed that he did this in the wee hours in bitter cold!
I expressed my appreciation, noting he did a huge favor for me and for my back. He simply said he was glad to help.
I’m pretty sure I don’t deserve such a nice neighbor and his deliberate acts of kindness. Even though I am able-bodied and certainly could have shoveled a path for my car, he did the job for me.
I thought of a conversation I had a few days later with a loved one who is dealing with a difficult health issue. He and his wife are known for spotting needs around them and without fanfare responding personally and often financially.
This loved one acknowledged he had found it a bit difficult to be the recipient of kindnesses during his own challenging experience. Receiving doesn’t always come easy for someone who is motivated to be a giver.
I reminded this loved one of what he already knew: “The blessing someone receives by reaching out generously to you is similar to the blessing you receive from helping others. It would be wrong to deny that person the blessing and joy of helping you.”
I figure I should heed my own advice. So, if the snow blower angel visits me after the next snow, I’ll again thank him for blessing me with his kindness and rest in the confidence that he received a blessing himself for doing such a nice thing.
