Things don’t always go according to plan.
In this very first Minute with Marlin episode, Marlin Miller shares a memorable winter day when he and Lisa were trying to take their family to a little cabin for a much-needed getaway. What they didn’t plan on was waking up to a foot and a half of beautiful but heavy, powdery snow.
After getting the tractor stuck while trying to clear the steep driveway, Marlin hooked a chain to their Subaru Outback to pull it out… only to bury the car as well. Hours behind schedule and frustrated, they finally got on the road.
As they passed their elderly widow neighbor shoveling her sidewalk, Marlin pulled over. Despite being late and the chaos of the morning, they stopped to help her. A small act of kindness in the middle of their own struggle.
Marlin’s gentle reminder is simple yet powerful: A small act of kindness can go a long way.
These short, heartfelt Minutes with Marlin are quick moments of wisdom, faith, humility, and encouragement—perfect for busy homestead days when you need a reminder of what really matters.
Learn more about Plain Values at https://plainvalues.com
Transcripts
Marlin Miller:
Things don’t always go to plan and a small act of kindness can go a long way. Years ago, Lisa and I were hoping to take our family to a little cabin for a couple days to get away. What we did not know and count on was a foot and a half of snow, powdery snow. It was beautiful the night before. We get the car loaded, the kids are fired up, but I got to go plow the drive. We live on a hill where we got to get out, up this steep driveway. I get the tractor out, plow the driveway for a bit and proceed to bury this tractor, get it stuck. It’s four wheel drive. I can’t move. And I thought, well, I’ll use our car. It’s heavy. It has four wheel drive. It was a Subaru Outback. All wheel drive, good tires. I’ll just hook a chain to the back and we’ll pull it out backwards.
I proceed to get the car stuck and I get the car buried pretty bad. So I hoof it up the driveway. I go to the neighbors and ask him to bring his tractor down. He pulls us out. We are finally on the road. We’re a couple hours late, but we’re on the road. And we pass our little farmer neighbor lady who’s a widow for many years and she’s out there shoveling her sidewalk. And I looked at Lisa and I said, “Babe, we have no timeline here. We’re on vacation. I’ll just pull off. We will take a few minutes. I’ll help her shovel her sidewalk and we’ll chat a little bit.” And I did that. I come back into the car, put it into reverse to back out. I got the car stuck a second time. It was horribly embarrassing, but it was okay. I hoped it to a different neighbor and he brought a different tractor and he pulled us out and we kept on going.
And we had a wonderful time at the cabin those couple days. Here is the point. A small act of kindness can go a long way. Don’t forget to care about the people around.
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