Random Acts of Kindness

Random Acts of Kindness

Since this journey began with Elizabeth, we have been amazed and humbled time and time again by the kindness of our family, friends, colleagues and our community.  Over and over again, people have offered to help, prayed, sent us cards and emails, and have generously given their time, money and gift cards to help us out.  I make an effort to personally thank everyone either face to face, via call or text, and sometimes through email or a thank you note.  We want people to know just how much their randomness acts of kindness mean to us.  

I fell on the ice on Saturday, and I smashed my back against our front cement porch steps. Jason ended up taking me to the ER twice this weekend.  The first time I went it was to be evaluated from my fall, and the second time was because my pain was increasing and I started have horrendous muscle spams in my back. Luckily, there are no broken bones.  I'm just badly bruised in my ribs, back, kidney and tailbone.  They gave me meds for muscle spams and inflammation.  I have not been at work the past two day, because the pain is unreal and I'm moving at a snail's pace.  It could've worse, and I'm fortunate that nothing is broken. This is just something else that is thrown in the mix.  However, kindness still prevails.  My sister Holly and my mom helped us with the kids on Saturday during my first ER trip.  Then, my parents came in to stay with the kids while we went to the ER for a second time.  My mom took care of me yesterday, and she sent my dad in to my house today to collect our laundry. I can't bend or twist, so my mom's help with the laundry is greatly appreciated. That is no small task, as we accumulate the laundry of a small army in this house.  Once again, despite misfortune, kindness prevails.  

In a world full of chaos, where we sometimes aren't sure who to trust, when we begin to wonder whether the human race is plummeting towards a perilous demise, there still always remains kindness.  It never ceases to amaze me how kind, generous, and supportive people can be when someone displays a shred of crisis or misfortune.  Today, I am humbled and amazed yet again by the generosity of others.  In our mail today was an envelope that had no return address.  Inside was a card wishing us well that was not signed, as well as a gift card to Wal Mart. The caption said that the anonymous kind soul(s) were "praying for us" and hoped that their gift "helps."  Well, you have helped us in an immeasurable way.  The generous gift card is obviously both helpful and appreciated, but just the fact that you thought, cared, and were wanting to extend your kindness to us means more than we could possibly say.  So, to the anonymous gift giver, we humbly say thank you.  I promise that I will pay this forward someday. And, as I well up with happy and humbled tears, I am again reminded of the kindness and humanity that exists in us all, even though it seems that it has evaporated or is on hiatus sometimes.  Kindness is real, and we are thankful to not only this giver but to all of you in our lives who have shown us kindness, especially in our time of need. 

So, never lose sight of the good things in the world.  Even when life seems to be caving in around you, or when you feel like the universe took a big dump on your head (we have said that we have felt this way around here more than once), always remember that there is still goodness, mercy and humanity.  Even Anne Frank, who was persecuted and lost her life to the Nazi atrocities in WWII said, "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart." So, my friends, keep the faith, share the goodness, and pass it on.  

Once again, thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your continued love, support and kindness.  People often ask me how we keep things straight, and stay so positive, and how we are so strong.  Well, we are those things because we have to be, but we are also those things because of the support and acts of kindness that you have all so graciously shown to us. As author Elizabeth Gilbert said in the book "Eat, Pray, Love," (which I would highly recommend), "In the end though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives.  In the end, maybe it's wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices."  Even when this journey has ended with Elizabeth, even when we have our answers and complete the puzzle, we will never forget the kindness and generosity that you have shown to us from random acts of kindness big and small.  We will not only pay this forward, but we will forever, sincerely, and humbly thank you, because your kindness has been etched into our hearts.