Pay it Forward at Easter

The local mega church in our little town put on a free Easter egg hunt.  So I decided to take the 3 older boys ages 2-5 to the event on Saturday before Easter. I had no idea that it would be as huge an event with as many people and their kids, that showed up, upwards of 5000 people.  So I took my wife’s expert advice and I put the child harness on my two year old and then I walked my older boy’s, about a football field’s distance through the crowds to get to the little kids section. They had everything well organized and the field was completely covered in plastic eggs and candy everywhere. They had everyone lined up along the fields and divided each age group with flagging. As I came around the edge of the field, between the 2 sections that I needed to line up at, I was approached by one of the church staffers. His name was Kevin and he was helping assist people find the appropriate groups, I let him know I was the only parent and I had to keep track of all my children. He was very pleasant and told me how the event operated and a good spot for us to run to. It was very crowded so I gathered my boys around me and discussed with them my plan.  Since Kevin was still standing next to me I decided to make small talk with him as we waited. I asked him if he had any kids, and he let me know he had 2 and asked the same of me. I let him know I had 4 boys under the age of 5, he seemed to pause and then he said, “come with me” and put his hand out for my oldest boy to take and then started walking alongside the field. I quickly gathered the other 2 boys, as I get very anxious in crowds and if someone we don’t know is taking our kids. So I stayed close to him and he walked to the toddler area and then went underneath the flagging and walked across the field toward the building where the announcers were. The kids the whole time were noticing all the eggs and candy, and really wanted to pick them up. But they are just awesome, obedient boys and I had told them no, so they waited.  We were basically now in place to get to the eggs without having to run past anyone, and Kevin turns to me and smiles and says, “what do you think”. I was very impressed and was truly grateful for the VIP treatment. I know it was a small bit of charity on his side, but it really showed how that one act, made my day and weekend for my boys.  One of the great things that my parents taught us was about Christian charity, and especially the parable about the Good Samaritan. Growing up they would always invite people over on the holidays, those that didn’t have anywhere to go. They always treated kids (especially) like they were welcome at our house and never made them feel awkward or out of place. They housed many young people going through their early adult lives and gave them room and board as they established themselves. If we all looked at our day to day interactions and applied this lesson, how meaningful it would be for someone. I believe it’s the “Pay it Forward” principle, we should try it more often.