December 2023

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18

My wife and I were stranded in a remote town in Northern California after a vehicle accident over thirty years ago. We walked to a local family-run motel, which offered us a place to stay until we could figure out our next steps. We sought information about the area at a local business and received help from a kind lady in her upper sixties. We decided to go to the next major town, forty-five minutes away, and purchase another vehicle. Grateful for her assistance, we planned to take the first bus in the morning.

Several hours later, back at our motel, we heard a knock on our door and opened it to find our new friend, Mary Darcy, standing there. She had been thinking about our situation and said she felt better about taking us in her vehicle and ensuring we found a suitable motel in the right part of town. We graciously accepted. On the drive there, we learned that she was a follower of Jesus Christ and had been the foster mother to nine children.

The only pay Mary would accept was our assurance we would help others in need when we had the opportunity. Indeed, Mary Darcy understood what it meant to love in deed and in truth.

Go, and do thou likewise. Luke 10:37b