Activating Love

“You are a giver!” – Gary Christensen

Activating Love

It was very cold outside.  I’d like to say unseasonably cold.  But, the cold was in season.  It was just much colder than usual.  It was so cold that when my phone announced a call coming in, I could hardly answer it.  As my finger touched the cold screen of my phone it was difficult to activate the call!

When the call was active I heard a voice I didn’t recognize.

“The furnace in this house isn’t working!”  He said.  “I thought you would want to know.”

Want to know?  I was filled with relief to know!  I drove over to my friend’s house to check it.  She was out of town and I was watching her home.  As soon as I arrived and walked in, my face felt a blast of cold and the temperature was dropping outside.  The forecast temperature for the night was three degrees.  My spine shivered as I called my friend Gary for help.

Gary was still working when he answered my call.  “Lynn, I’m in Utah County.  I’ll call you when I am on my way home and we can get together.”

I disconnected the call and remembered what Gary once said to me.  “You are a giver!”

In truth, Gary is the giver.  It was a cold winter’s night and he met me at the house late in the evening.  I’m sure he wanted to be at home letting his fireplace toast his toes after a long day’s work.  Yet, here he was, standing in a freezing cold basement running furnace tests in the dark.  I watched him run test after test, check after check.

After he finished his testing he said, “I can’t tell for sure, but I think it is the computer board.  I’ll have to see if I can get one tomorrow.”  Then he got on his knees and shot a photo of the board with his phone.

“It’s amazing how these phones have changed our lives!”  I said.

Gary laughed. “Yes!  This makes it easy for me to get the exact board without mistake.  Oh, I have a couple of space heaters in my truck so we can get the house warmed up so pipes won’t freeze tonight.”

“You’re a giver!”  I said to myself as Gary climbed into his truck to finally head home after I extended his day.  It was colder than usual.  I looked at my phone to check the outside temperature.  It was a chilling three degrees!

It was chilling outside for sure.  But, I could hardly feel the cold.  Gary had shown me the definition of being a giver, so my heart was warm and comforted knowing he had saved thousands of dollars for my absent friend and changed lives, by simply activating love in a cold world!