by Chris Koellhoffer, IHM, March 13, 2016
Have you ever been on the receiving end of an act of kindness so unexpected, so profound, that it makes you want to weep for the sheer joy of being washed in that river of tenderness?
I discovered such a moment at the local car wash last week. In the middle of a stretch of warm pre-spring days, I decided to take my car to the self-service station in town. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one so inspired because the lines were long and the lot full. I pulled into what I hoped was one of the faster-moving lines and waited. After 10 minutes, there was just one car, tended by an elderly man, ahead of me, and it looked as if his only intention was to rinse off the dirt on his car. No suds, no waxing. “Good,” I thought, “it will be my turn in no time.”
4 minutes passed, the maximum time allotted before the automated machine cried out for more change. When it did, the man paid for a second session. “What’s going on?” I wondered. “He was only hosing it down.”
Then I noticed something strange, for the man was no longer rinsing off his car. He had turned his attention to the floor of the car wash bay, spraying water on it front to back, side to side, very carefully and meticulously. And as he rinsed, he smiled and waved at me. What was that about?
After he finally put the hose back in place, the man walked toward me, still grinning and waving. I rolled down my window as he leaned in.
“How are you today?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye. Before I could respond, he added, “I hope you don’t mind that I took a bit of extra time in there.”
“What was that about?”
“Well,” he answered, “a lot of dirt gets left on the floor of the bay after each washing, and no one ever cleans it up. It just doesn’t seem right for the next driver to pull their car in and have to stand in all that mess. So after I wash my car, I try to give some attention to the floor and make sure it’s welcoming for the next person.” “And today,” he grinned, “that person is you.”
Startled, I could barely mouth an astonished “Thank you” before he hopped back into his car, beeped the horn as good-bye, and drove off, waving.
Still mulling over that experience, I pulled into the car wash bay and, for the first time, studied the concrete floor. In that moment, fresh off the blessing I had been given, I noticed that the floor was spotless. Was it my imagination, or did it seem like holy ground? Who knows, but after I soaped up my car and rinsed it clean, guess what? I hosed off the floor as well.
I had witnessed a seemingly small and simple act. A loving, thoughtful gift from a stranger in a life probably overflowing with such acts. A consciousness of how his choices and his deeds might affect the lives of all who followed his footprints in life.
The tenderness of that moment is with me still. Car Wash Kindness: Pass it on today.
Takeaway
Imagine a world populated by the “Car Wash Stranger.” What would this world look like? Feel like? Sound like?
When have you experienced the action of a stranger that has surprised, delighted, comforted or encouraged you?
When have you provided a similar thoughtful gesture to someone you didn’t know?
Hold in your heart and prayer today all those who have graced your life with kindness and compassion.
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