One Small Change: Supporting Someone By Hiring Them

I'm thrilled to be guest posting at Addie Zierman's blog today as part of her fantastic One Small Change Series. Her book, When We Were On Fire, was one of my favorites from 2013. 

Whenever my grass grows long, one of my students rides up on his scooter, grabs our lawn mower, and goes to work.

A few weeks ago, this kid arrived as he always does: Ready, if not eager, to mow our lawn. Before long, what was supposed to be a fast job turned into a full afternoon’s work. He mowed our lawn, weeded alongside my husband, and finally taught my husband how to mulch our yard.

While they worked outside, I lay inside, sprawled on our couch, recovering from a nauseating migraine. Despite my physical pain, I found myself grinning from ear to ear as I listened to their conversation through the open window. One topic gently gave way to another. In a short span of time they covered school, church, God, faith, and home – sometimes delving deeply into these topics and other times, merely skimming their surface.

As I eavesdropped on this conversation, I was struck by the profundity of the moment; By the sacredness apparent within it; And by the fact that it almost didn’t happen.

Read the rest of this article here.