(awkward) acts of kindness

It was freezing outside. Okay, so it was probably in the 40's but to a Southern girl, it may as well be 40 below. Driving to Hobby Lobby for yet another craft run, I happened to pass by a guy standing beside the road, waving a ridiculous sign advertising for discounts at the nearby pizza place. He was wearing a hat and gloves, but he had to have been freezing; who could possibly want to wave a sign around outside in the middle of winter?

I saw a sign at an ice cream shop across the street advertising for $1 cups of hot chocolate (very good business move because, honestly, even I don't buy ice cream in the winter). So I went through the drive thru and bought that poor guy a hot cocoa.

Now, random acts of kindness like this aren't exactly a habit of mine, especially for strangers. But I wish they were, so I decided that my new year's resolution would be to do one random act of kindness a day. So when I saw that guy out in the cold I thought, "Aha! An act of kindness just waiting to happen!"

Walking out of the car, I immediatley felt like an idiot. This is weird, I thought. People driving by probably think I'm crazy. But I gripped the paper cup bravely and marched toward him.

"Um, hi," I said hesitantly as he pulled out his earphones and looked at me as if to say, "Who the heck are you?"

"Would you like a hot chocolate?"
"No, thanks," he replied.

No thanks?? Okay, I understand it's socially unacceptable to accept free food from strangers, but come on!

"Oh, well, I bought it just for you. I figured it probably gets kinda cold out here..." Please, just take the stupid cup.
"Well, okay, thanks." He finally said as he grabbed it.
I smiled and turned back to my car when he called out, "Hey, you should've come yesterday. It was freezing then."
Oh, no he didn't.
Are you kidding me? Who would possibly say that? I got in my car, somehow lacking that warm, fuzzy feeling you get after you do something nice.

Have you ever had the intention of doing something nice, and you do it, but it comes across as totally awkward and even unappreciated? I mean, maybe he thought I was hitting on him or something (which I most definitley wasn't), but still. It's like you expect to totally make someone's day and they look at you like you're a moron.

Not long after that, I stopped and picked up a hitch hiker on an equally freezing day. Now, I only did it because she was a girl and I was driving close to home. Anyway, I tried to be nice and chat with her, and she seemed like a really nice person. She was a college student and her ride bailed on her earlier in the day, so she was going to have to walk I don't know how many miles to class. So we got to her school, I dropped her off, and she didn't even thank me. No joke.

Now, I wasn't mad or even really that annoyed, because I don't want to do things assuming I'll be thanked. But I was confused more than anything. Isn't it Common Courtesy 101 to thank someone who picked you up off the side of the road in the bitter cold?

I've learned that acts of kindness can be really awkward. And that they don't always leave you with that content, "Gee, aren't I a great person?" feeling. But maybe it's supposed to be that way sometimes. Maybe sometimes God wants to remind us that we need to bless people for the sake of blessing people, not to make ourselves look good or feel better.

So I want to challenge you to go out of your way for someone today, and don't sweat it if it makes you feel a little awkward. And don't give up if someone blows you off. God knows you're making an effort, and you never know when you're going to completely turn someone's day around.

Just make sure it's exactly cold enough outside before you buy a stranger a hot beverage.