No Good Deed....

I really hate when people say

"No good deed goes unpunished".

It's a cynical, untrue statement and a cop-out. It says more about the person saying it then they think.

It's a sad sad statement that lacks hope.

I was brought up in the Catholic church. One thing I was taught was faith, hope, and charity.

I know for a fact without faith we have nothing. There would be no belief in God or much else.

I know that without hope I wouldn't have gotten through some things in life that tried to drag me down- baaad things.

I also know that without charity we wouldn't treat our fellow man as our brother. Which is also treating him as we would like to be treated ourselves. Which is also part of Jesus' teachings.

The true way to say this saying, and the way I learned it as a child is

"No good deed goes unseen".

What a profound statement!

So full of faith, hope, and charity.

We know that if acts alone could get you into heaven we'd ALL be walking lil ole ladies across the street and what-not. That's not the point I'm trying to make.

Sometimes I joke and call it 'karma'. Just like no good deed goes unseen, the same can be said for bad deeds, and sometimes "justice" is swift- thus making it more satisfying for us mere humans, but sometimes you have to resign to the hope that bad deeds are being "tallyed" just as much as good ones and justice will prevail at some time- even if we don't get to witness it. (man, that was a looong sentence and quite improper I'm sure- sorry to all me teachers!).

And now what I am going to say is not at all trivial, though not as profound an example as other times in my life that were more dramatic.

The other day I was bitching and moaning about my grill being stolen. And that it made me mad but I was happy in the fact that whoever took it now has a defective grill (probably easily fixed but...).

So what happens?

My neighbor gives me an old grill she wasn't using any longer. Now THAT was cool!

I live in a really cool neighborhood where alot of us know each other and look out for each other. Yeah, there's some bad apples on the street, but the majority are "true neighbors".

I don't take things lightly. And I am grateful for the little things that make my life easier just as much as the big things. And when I am treated well, even if the other person doesn't know the impact of their action or the value of it, I have to raise it up for the props it deserves.

Thank you, Bobbie, for doing what may be a small thing to you but you know it was a big thing to me, it really helped me out.

And thank you to God, for giving me examples every day of your goodness, even when things look bleak.