One day a few years ago in the early afternoon I was riding my bicycle via the bike path on a bridge over the Salt River in Tempe, Arizona.  Suddenly, what at first appeared to be a small bird came crashing into the  middle of my chest.  It wasn't a small bird at all.  I was hit  by a wad of already-been-chewed tobacco that was thrown at me by the rider of a passing car. The car was heading toward me in the direction of the ASU campus.  The thrower was hanging out the passenger window of the car laughing at me.  I hate to admit it but I gave him the international sign of discontent.   Needless to say it made me so mad that I would have probably tried to go fist to cuff with the guy should he have had the courage to confront me.  I would probably gotten my butt spanked by the younger man, but, I might have spanked him.   I was so upset  at the time that it would have been worth taking the chance.   Of course, I never saw him again. On the other hand: For an undisclosed reason I was out in the middle of nowhere north of Mustang, Oklahoma around midnight.  I was all alone and hiking toward home. There was enough moon and starlight that I could easily see where I was going.   My hike started a little over four miles from home which would have taken me about an hour.  I was wearing khaki shorts, a dark colored tee shirt, leather sandals without socks and one of my typically goofy looking baseball caps. The footwear wasn’t designed for hiking and my feet were beginning to blister on the top in a couple places, however, I’ve had sore feet before.   It wasn’t a life or death situation, if you know what I mean. Oh, I had a cell phone, but I had already resigned myself to the fact that the hike would do me good and a little foot pain was not a problem.   Anyway, I would be home within a half hour or so.   It was late for traffic in this part of the world and only three or four cars had passed me in the previous half-hour all of them had approached me from the front.  Desiring not to be hit by a car I always moved to the opposite side of the road from the traffic. This is easy to do when you see the car approaching, and I follow the same procedure when the cars are approaching me from the rear. A small sedan approached me from the rear.   When I first heard the car and saw its lights I moved to my left on the opposite side of the road from where the approaching car would pass. The car stopped right beside me and the young man who was driving it asked, “could you use a ride?” I’m a very trusting person and I haven’t met very many people who I wouldn’t befriend if they would let me.   And, you know what, I’ve never been attacked or robbed by a stranger around midnight when out in the middle of nowhere north of Mustang, Oklahoma.  It turned out that the driver of this particular sedan was a kind young man who was genuinely interested in my welfare.   I immediately answered, “you bet I could,” as I walked around the front of the car and climbed in beside him. I introduced my self and we shook hands. This young man saw me walking and had passed me from my front, and after he drove a mile or so past me he decided to turn around and see if I needed help. He drove me to my doorstep which was a little over two miles away. Although, our conversation was very short I found out that I knew his dad,  uncle, aunt and his grandparents. It was then easy for me to understand his kindness, his respect and his genuine concern for me. What a difference a loving Christian family makes in a young man’s life. Acts of kindness make me feel good, oh I’ve offered others kindness a few times, but it seems that I’ve received ten times more that I’ve ever given. For the rest of my life the memory of this event will make my heart soar like an eagle! America is full of wonderful people who try to behave in a way that Jesus told us all to behave.   They genuinely love their neighbor.   I am continuously overwhelmed by God’s  wonderful amazing Grace.