You make decisions based on the situation and what needs to be done. Do I help the person on the side of the road? Do I roll down the window? Maybe I should just look the other way. If I look, we acknowledge on another's presence. If we interact, my heart will long for more understanding. But, I can just roll down the window, throw in a couple of bucks and be done with it. Care comes from the heart. Tossing a couple of bucks the way of someone asking, is more like scratching an itch. Isn't it?

   Hear the Good News, caring is about giving of your heart and embracing those who you can help and reach out to. Boaz, quite the man, is a portrait of what it means to reach out. As easy as it is, he could have left Ruth to glean in the fields without saying a word to her. Following behind the reapers was her privilege as a widow and as foreigner. But as Boaz came to know who Ruth was and what it was that she had been through and doing since, he offered some bit of himself to her. He made a difference in her life and allowed God to work through him.

We have opportunities and moments to touch those who need or can use our help. We have a chance to make a difference in another's life, all we have to do is give a little bit of our self. It is real, it counts, it makes a difference, but it may not be the easiest. But what in life that is worth while and meaningful is easy. Volunteer and offer something of yourself as the days to celebrate not only Thanksgiving, but the birth of the One who gave up himself for me, for you, for us.