Friday Finds: The Greatest Gift

This is a true story. 

It just happened this month in our small town.

A 91 year old woman had been saving coins in a cookie jar she kept in her kitchen for months for a trip she was planning on taking with her daughter to see her great-grandson graduate in South Florida. Her goal was $100 to help out with travel expenses. 

She had accumulated $87 worth of change in that jar.

On December 10, 2016, she left her house to talk with a neighbor across the road for a few minutes and left the door unlocked as anyone would. Fifteen minutes later, she returned to her house, picked up the cookie jar to add more coins and found it unexpectedly light. Looking inside, she discovered it was empty. Some sneaky person had come into her kitchen and stolen every bit of her change in her cookie jar!

She called the police.
A police Sergeant arrived to investigate the crime.
Unfortunately there weren't any witnesses and no fingerprints could be recovered from the jar, so he had no way to track down the culprit.

Returning to the station afterwards, this police Sergeant told his fellow officers on his shift all about this situation and together they decided they'd donate their own dollars in order to try and make up for what this woman had lost.

Together, these officers put together a total of $106 to give to her, more then she'd lost.

So the next day, on Dec 11, the lady was thoroughly surprised to see 2 black & white patrol cars arrive at her house and a half dozen police officers come to her door to deliver their gift.

She was overwhelmed with gratitude.

And, at the time of this interview with her by the local paper on December 15th, she was busy making cookies to give to all these very kind police officers who redeemed a very great wrong.

This is the greatest gift: love.

Agape love that does what is kind and good and beneficial regardless of whether or not it's deserved or even thanked. 

This is what Jesus was talking about in John 15:12 when He said, "This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you."
And that love was to die on the cross for the sins of all.

Best wishes for a Blessed Holiday!

Let us remember to treat others as we would wish to be treated  every day of the year.
See you for Garden Pic Wednesday!