“亲爱的外婆……”我读信时能听到阿曼达甜美的声音。“答应我，关于让妈妈惊讶的那件事，请给我保密。”这事我记得。我慷慨的外孙女那年买了个特殊的圣诞礼物，花了太多的钱。时至今日，我依然对她信守承诺。
接着我读到信的结尾。“好了，我不愿说再见，所以我只会说，回头见。爱你的阿曼达。”
我把信折起来，放到我胸口。我无法解释这封信如何在感恩节到了黄油碟里。我只知道在我最需要的时候收到我需要听到的消息。有很多事值得让我感激。我对外孙女信守承诺，上帝会确保阿曼达也信守对我的承诺。这是上帝对所有人的承诺。“回头见，”阿曼达说。我盼望着承诺兑现。
A good deed
一个善举
He was driving home one evening， on a two-lane country road. Work， in this small mid-western community， was almost as slow as his beat-up Pontiac. But he never quit looking. Ever since the Levis factory closed， he"d been unemployed， and with winter raging on， the chill had finally hit him. It was a lonely road. Not very many people had a reason to be on it， unless they were leaving. Most of his friends had already left. But he stayed on.
It was starting to get dark and light snow flurries were coming down. He"d better get a move on. You know， he almost didn"t see the old lady， stranded on the side of the road. But even in the dim light of day， he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on his face， she was worried. Was he going to hurt her？ He didn"t look safe， he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened， standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill that only fear can put in you. He said， “I"m here to help you madam. Why don"t you wait in the car where it"s warm. By the way， my name is Joe.”
Well， all she had was a flat tire， but for an old lady， that was bad enough. Joe crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack， skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. As he was tightening up the nuts， she rolled down her window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn"t thank him enough for coming to her aid. Joe just smiled as he closed her trunk.
She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would have been alright with her. She had already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Joe never thought twice about the money. This was helping someone in need， and he had lived his whole life that way， and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back， the next time she saw someone who needed help， she could give that person the assistance that they needed， and Joe added “...and think of me”.
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day， but he felt so good. A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat， and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her.
Her waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile， one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn"t erase. The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant， but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Joe.
After the lady finished her meal， and the waitress went to get her change from a hundred dollar bill. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. She wondered where the lady could be， then she noticed something written on a napkin. There were tears in her eyes， when she read what the lady wrote. It said， “You don"t owe me a thing， I"ve been there too. Someone once helped me out， the way I"m helping you. If you really want to pay me back， here"s what you do. Don"t let the chain of love end with you.”
