Cleaning my office, I found something I had written about a while back. I took the train to visit a family member and realized that traveling always makes me a little anxious now. It is more stressful now than fun, not just at the stage of life, but this era of our culture and society that we are living in now.

I found myself a window seat and got all my stuff arranged, thinking about how much easier our lives would be without so much stuff. I got comfortable, put on my earphones and just relaxed. Then I looked up and started watching people boarding the train. Lots of people, all sizes, colors and styles. I realized that no one voluntarily chooses to sit next to a stranger unless they are forced to by sheer numbers and the limit of seating. A conductor’s voice came over the intercom and announced that the train was full, and everyone should find a seat (in other words, don’t be picky.) A woman came to the seat next to me, she grudgingly greeted me and said to her friend behind her, “there are no two seats together now.”

I realize the choice in my head. I look behind me, to the one vacant seat her friend will occupy. Resentfully, in my head of course, or maybe my heart, I quietly say, “I will move so that you two can sit together.” They both smile and say, “Are you sure?”

Inside I am saying, “Of course not, I am not sure at all that I want to give you my precious seat by the window and move my stuff and sit in the aisle seat next to a stranger. In fact, I am completely sure I do not want to move”. But, instead I smile and shake my head and gather my stuff once again and move one row back to the dreaded aisle seat. “ I got here early to get that seat by the window, why didn’t you plan ahead”, I say in my head to no one.

I hear one of the friends say, “Wow, life is good.” Hearing this, I am both humbled, astonished and a little ashamed. “Life is good. I get to sit by my friend on the train.” One small gesture of polite civility, kindness and now life is good again.

I couldn’t stay grumpy. I was reminded once again how true that is. It has been said that “it is one straw, that breaks the camel’s back.” I begin to picture the camel’s back with that one straw being taken back out. Like a movie in rewind slow motion, the fallen camel is restored to standing erect with the removal of one straw.

Mostly, I live my life on the lookout for some big event, some spectacular motion, that applauds my goodness, celebrates my faithfulness, my hard work yes, even my ambition. You know what I mean, whether you admit it or not, we all want the voice, “Well-done!” When in fact, one truth of goodness is about picking up straws before someone gets hurt, holding onto straws for others, so that backs will not be broken. Goodness is being present to others in the back-breaking events of life, watching out for each other.

I think Jesus said a couple of things that apply here about love of God and neighbor. Love your neighbor enough that knowing how much you would want to sit on the train with a friend, you give up your window seat and let two friends travel together. When we can be sacrificial in little ways, when we are invited to participate in acts of kindness in the middle of our ordinary days, we help create goodness. We can make life good. May it be so even if at first we do it grudgingly. We get better at it, as we practice it.

Your Pastor,