Monday, March 17, 2008
Spread the Word
Please tell your Latter-day Saint friends and family members about this project. Together, I believe we can inspire others to do a little more, to be a little better. And it doesn't necessarily mean adding another thing to the to-do list. Sometimes it's just noticing that your waitress needs a little boost, or maybe that stranger on the sidewalk needs a cheerful hello. We just need to connect with one another--even briefly. If we look around us, there are opportunities to do random acts of kindness everywhere.
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Do you ever have a fleeting thought about someone and you don't know why they came to your mind and you think, "I should call them" or "I wonder how she is doing." Well last week I had one of the worst days I have had in a very long time. My husband had been out of town for two weeks and I was both physically and emotionally exhausted, my kids all had the flu, I was running on very little sleep, I was hormonal, I had a bad fight with my sister. All of these events resulted in an emotional breakdown and I sobbed for the first time in months. I get a phone call from a new girl in my ward I barely new. She said to me, "I don't really know why I called you, I just had a strong feeling that maybe you could use some help in some way and I wanted to see how you were doing." This was a woman who followed through with that fleeting thought and made my day. She picked up prescriptions and pedialite for my sick kids since I couldn't leave the house, and most importantly she gave me a much needed hug and listening ear when she brought it by. Our Father in Heaven answers our prayers through other people. We just need to make sure we are sensitive to the spirit when he calls us to serve someone else and be an answer to their prayers
I was at the grocery store with my 2 year old daughter trying to gather all that was needed for her Birthday dinner that night. She was in one of those little car carts and was having a massive fit. A fit bad enough, that under normal circumstances, I would have given up on the shopping and left the store immediately. However, we had all our family coming over and I couldn't very well serve them crackers and fruit snacks. I pressed on and thought the best thing to do would be to finish my shopping as quickly as possible and get out of there. I got dirty looks here, nasty comments there . . . one woman who I had passed a few times was talking on her cell phone commented to the person on the other end that a lady with a screaming child was FOLLOWING her around in the store! Embarrassed, and exhausted, I finally made it to the check out line and was just on the vurge of tears. The woman ahead of me looked at me and my screaming flailing child. I prepared myself for another comment, but what she did was offer me her place in line and simply said "I've been there before". It probably only took an extra 10 minutes out of her life, but the love she showed meant the world to me. I'm sure she doesn't know that five years later I still remember that gesture. The Savior has shown us this same kind of love. Just as this woman had "felt my pain" and cared more about my well-being than her own, the Savior has felt more pain than we could ever imagine and cares for us enough to have given his own life.
I was three days away from delivering my fourth child and my great neighbor brought me dinner. That may not sound like much but she included all the plates, cups and flatware so I didn't have to clean up. It's nice to get dinner after a baby but it's even better before the baby comes and your body is tired. Now I do this for friends who are having babies because it was such a welcomed, simple, kind act.
I was on my way home from a date. We had gone out to a nice dinner and then headed to his mom’s house across town to watch a movie. Just as we were getting in the car, my date said he forgot something and ran back into the house. He immerged from the house with a sleeping bag. Needless to say I became a little worried what he planned to use it for, yet was somewhat intrigued as well. We started for home and on the way stopped at a car wash, where a homeless man was sleeping that cold winter night. My date took his sleeping bag and gave it to this man. I could not believe my eyes. When he got back in the car, all he said was, “I need a new one anyway.” This random act of kindness had never left me and I hope will always influence me to do good.
I was listening to conference today, or rather was trying to listen with three kids and a Dad that is like a kid. I didn't think anyone was listening at all when the speaker talked to the children and told them to give their mothers a hug and tell them they love them. My little three year old walked straight over to me and gave me a hug and told me she loved me. I don't think anything was more profound to me during conference than the obedience of my child. I was so touched as the other two quickly followed her actions and expressed their love. Obedience goes a long way in small things.
When I was 19 and working as a receptionist at an Engineering firm I routinely had long, unstimulating days. One afternoon as I was leaving the office I exited onto the street and saw a middle-aged man on a bicycle. We past each other just a few steps outside the door and he called, "Hey!" I turned around cautiously as I wasn't terribly comfortable talking to strangers. He dismounted from his bike, pulled a little short-stemmed rose from his pocket and handed it to me. I was stunned. I didn't know what to say. I mumbled "Thanks" and gave him a warm smile, he turned, mounted his bycicle and pedalled away.
This has stuck with me for several years because it was so random. He made my day! I had that little rose in my hand, a smile on my face, and my countenance brightened. It was just a nice thing to do to make me feel good. I hope he's still handing out a rose a day to someone who least expects it.
When I was 17 years old I woke up alone in my home to a room filled with smoke and a fire in the kitchen. The fire had already spread too far to contain and I had to run out of the house in the clothes I had on, which was only a pair of men's boxer shorts and a tank top with a rip half-way down the side. (It was hot and we had no air conditioning.) The fire trucks showed up along with the news crews and I was so embarrassed to be barefoot and having to hold my little tank top closed. Then a woman came onto our property who I had never met. She said she lived down the road a ways. (We lived out in the country and weren't near any neighbors.) She brought a needle and thread and sewed up my ripped shirt. She handed me a little wooden cross and then she left. Many kindnesses were shown to us at that time, but that very personal little act of service meant the world to me, and although I don't know the woman's name, I'll remember her forever.
With four small children and an extremely tight budget, I remember being in the grocery store doing my very best to keep all the kids under control as well as doing some math in my head. I was staring at the pectin to make some jam knowing that I did not have enough jars to make a whole batch. I had money for one box of pectin. The fruit had been given to me, and there was no way I could buy more jars, lids and rings, let alone purchasing enough pectin to be able to use all of the fruit. Out of the blue, someone's dear grandfather graciously gave me $20. He must have been able to see right to the heart of my dilemma. He was so kind and made sure to insist that I take the money. I never got his name, but the man has been thanked in my prayers more that once for showing me kindness and charity.
I had just finished buckling my one-year-old daughter into her carseat when I noticed a senior-aged woman walking through the mall parking lot looking for her car. She would walk a few stalls and then rest, clearly tired and bewildered. I drove up next to her and asked her if she needed help. I'm sure the baby in the backseat helped ease any stranger anxiety. She climbed into the passenger seat and we drove for 20 minutes looking for her car. I was beginning to doubt whether offering to help was the right thing -- she couldn't even remember what kind of car she drove -- when I suggested we drive to a lower parking lot to find her car. Lo and behold, there it was. She thanked me, and that is all that I wanted. The opportunity to help someone filled my heart.
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