What can I do to help others?  I can’t see any special talents. All I have is this broom. A old red-handled, broken-bristle whisk broom.

Then you can sweep the sidewalks and streets around your domicile and keep them clean for Jesus. ‘Yeah, but that’s manual labor, hard work, not thought of as respectable work.’ Did you know manual is in Jesus name? Emanuel!  He said He would bless all the works of our hands, so whatever we set our hand to do, He sees it as important and will bless it. (Deuteronomy 28:8.)

People notice when we keep our areas neat and tidy. They notice when we care about our surroundings. It is an encouragement for them to start taking better care of and respecting what they have. All many need is someone’s example to follow; and people are watching.

One small place I worked was very disorganized and dirty…layers of dirt on the carpet, woodwork, cabinets, desk and equipment…it had never been kept up.  One piece of equipment at a time I began to clean . I vacuumed and washed the carpet and washed all the woodwork and cabinets and began to organize the chaos. People began to comment each time they came in how much cleaner things looked. That was extremely rewarding to hear.

I swept the sidewalk every day in front of the store. This was ‘my’ store, my responsibility and I wanted it to look nice, and I enjoyed doing it. The street really needed to be swept along the curb’s edge, and after several months I couldn’t stand to look at it any more and got the broom and the scoop shovel and cleaned it all up. The next day the neighboring business was out cleaning their street curb! One good deed started another…and again, people noticed and commented!

The street drain across the road was covered with dirt and grass, and weeds were growing around it so water couldn’t drain. That was another project to be done, and a nice gentleman from the neighboring business came out to help me shovel it away and cut the weeds back.

One very rainy day I went to work and the street was flooded. The drain was clogged again. Although the drain wasn’t on my side of the road, I  didn’t want the water rising and coming near ‘my establishment’, so I got my trusty red-handled broom and walked across the street to see what could be done. It was really kind of fun, the road was deep in water and I just waded through it like a little kid, poking the broom handle around the drain to loosen up the fallen leaves and grass clippings that were covering it up, and then the water began to flow…rapidly!

I had created my own little river at the edge of the street. I kept stirring the water to loosen the debris and finally was able to reach down and pull it all out and throw it on the grass easement. Then I turned the broom back right side up and swept it completely clean as the water continued to drain.

Feeling a sense of accomplishment I walked back across the street to the store not thinking any more about it, cleaned the broken-bristle broom and set it up to dry. A while later a man came in and thanked me for cleaning the drain. I didn’t think anyone was watching.

On my way home, I thanked God for my father who had taught me how to use a broom, and for all the times we’d swept out the garage together. I was grateful for two hands and my red-handled broom.