A Life Lesson on Judging Others

An interesting thing happened yesterday while I was at the grocery store with my kids. Avery wanted to go on the little rides outside the front of the building, so we headed over there for a quick "horsee" ride. I rummaged through my wallet to find the 50 cents it required and found I only had a quarter. As I was telling my kids that we'd have to ride it after our grocery shopping was done so I could get some change, a man came up to me and asked how much the ride was. I told him it was a 50 cents and he bent down into his backpack, fished around for a minute as gave me 4 quarters and exclaimed, "Good for two rides!".
I thanked him and tried to give him the cash I had, but he wouldn't take it. I sat there in awe of my own "judgemental attitude" I could have had toward this man. He was a man in his 60's I suppose with several earrings in his ear, a dirty old tank top, several gold chains, teeth missing and a prosthetic leg. He carried around a dirty backpack. Upon first glance, I would "assume" he would be coming up to me to ask for money, but instead, he wanted to make a little kids day by letting them go on a silly ride.
I used his quarter and the ride started. The kids were giggling, the man was saying how he loves kids and he doesn't ever get to do things like this for anyone. I was so touched by his kindness. As I tried to give him money, he acted as if it was an insult, because all he wanted to do was do a good deed. As I stood there and watched my kids, the man was about to leave and he bent down again in his backpack and handed me 8 more quarters! He said, "Let your kids have a good time" and he walked off. I watched this man walk away and I had a sense of gratitude for the goodness in people. I tend to dwell on all the evil in the world a lot of times and forget that there are still SO MANY good people here as well. So, I say to myself as the hymn goes, "Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need? Have I cheered up the sad, or made someone feel glad, if not, I have failed indeed!". So the next time I have the opportunity to do a good deed, I need to make sure I do it. Don't be afraid to help a stranger or someone in need. It' amazing what a little act of kindness can do to your soul.