One Good Turn Deserves Another

I'm not 100% certain that's the saying but I saw it in action recently. I love people watching so the complimentary breakfast station was a perfect place to observe people in their native habitat while we were on vacation. The breakfast room was crowded, but I noticed everyone being friendly, polite and waiting their turn. I enjoyed watching the server bustle about refilling items and helping people with the pancake machine. The pancake machine is Matt's favorite thing about staying in a Holiday Inn Express and the foremost reason we stay in that brand as often as possible. Ben is now fancying the pancake machine as well. On our last morning I tried to help out and followed the directions on the screen when it stalled. The server came running over, "don't touch that, hun, she's very temperamental, let me do that." So I looked around and noticed it got more and more crowded. Matt wanted to visit the ATM so I cleared off our table and wiped it with the disenfectant wipes sitting out. I noticed two more tables recently vacated and wiped them off too. No, it wasn't my responsibility, but boy did I feel good pitching in to help out in a place that was bustling and far more than one person could reasonably handle. I was hoping God would be proud of me. Three more families were able to sit down to clean tables with their breakfasts. That's one good turn. When we got home from Washington DC there was a donation solicitation in the mail. The Autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation was requesting funds. I always go online and check the organization if I haven't heard of it. myasdf.org is the website. It looked legit and even had a "platinum transparency 2023" award seal on its home page. I looked around on the website and saw they offered scholarships for swim lessons. I clicked to apply for Ben but applications were closed. I filled in the "contact us" message field asking if swim lesson scholarships could be made available year round. I received an email reply the next day from the executive director stating if I replied with the following information our application would be considered. I went ahead and sent all the information after finding lessons through the local YMCA to enroll Ben. Not only was the aquatic director attentive to my email and called me back right away, they enrolled Ben and changed the payment information to "pay later" so that the ASDF could pay them directly, should Ben qualify for the scholarship. Another good turn. This morning I got the email (within 24 hours of my request) that ASDF would like to pay the fee for Ben's swim lessons. Despite money being tight we probably could've paid the fee out of pocket, but now that we've been riding the roller coaster of navigating disability services, we have learned to take advantage of every opportunity. There are probably a bunch of things we spend money on that we may not have had to if Ben was a typical child. Another good turn. Now I'm not suggesting that God was rewarding me for cleaning tables at the Holiday Inn Express, but I was trying to be a good Christian. I felt blessed contributing and I will also contribute to the Autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation. I had intended to all along when I get paid next. Getting the scholarship for Ben was unexpected, appreciated and totally unrelated to any good deeds I had done, but it was super exciting to get the approval email nonetheless. I'm going to continue to try and be Christlike when I see the opportunity, and I hope you do too. We can all do our part to improve the world.