There are days I feel so blessed by kindness and generosity, and I see it all around me. There are other days I feel beat down by insensitivity and callousness, and by what I see on the news.
This week was one of the former. We were the recipient of four small kind acts and I wanted to share them.
- A total stranger gave me the giant sunflower head below that she had grown. My son and I will pick off and roast the seeds. And when I told her I garden as well, she gave me a jar of the seeds she's saved from her own garden, things like yard-long beans, banana squash, wax beans and okra, among others.
- Then my husband's uncle gave us a bunch of catfish he'd caught. I breaded and baked the fillets and they were awesome. They fed us for two days.
- Later in the week, a customer left two jars of canned salsa at our office door (we've also gotten zucchini red hots and sand hill plum jam!).
- Then a lady in town my husband helped out gave him a container full of fresh, hot ham and beans that fed us another two nights. They were fantastic!
Wow.
Kindness still exists. People are still generous. I'm so grateful to God for that knowledge and for the blessings given to us. May we turn around and do the same for others.
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| Gosh, that sunflower is HUGE! I hope I can grow one like that some day. |
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Aww, sounds like you have some nice people in your life. :)
ReplyDeleteMy hubby knows most of them pretty well, but one was a stranger to us until that day! I love how people share in little ways, it makes my heart smile :)
Deletewonderful, encouraging, and inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI pray I strive to be a "people" like that every single day.
~Heather <3
The Welcoming House Blog
It's too easy to forget the kindness in the world, especially if you watch the news these days. I would rather focus on the good.
DeleteReap what you sew...obviously your heart and kindness have rewarded you ;)
ReplyDeleteThere are very good people out there-they just don't get the press the bad ones do.
Well, I feel like my husband has been generous with his time and help with other people, and they like to show gratitude in these small ways. Him and his Dad each got a batch of cookies for helping a lady start her car! Best thank you gift EVER! I get tired of hearing negative stuff all the time, so I like to share when people are kind.
DeleteIt's great to remember moments like this when you have a bad day. For people to be so kind to you, you must have shown interest in them and been kind to them as well. A man that hath friends must show himself friendly!
ReplyDeleteI love personal gifts like these too, things given from the heart, made or grown or caught by their own hand. Wow, beautiful.
DeleteI love small town living! And I agree, you reap what you sew also.
ReplyDeleteThanks Amanda, me too! Things like this just don't happen quite as often in most larger cities.
DeleteHi Steph. We all need to remember that kindness is not dead, that there are still people in the world who give unselfishly. And, then, we need to make sure that we are one of those people.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Thanks, Regina, I have to hold onto that with all my heart because you hear so much about the negative anymore. And yes, I want to be one too :)
DeleteSuch a great reminder! How blessed you are, and I'm sure you are such a blessing to so many others too!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your words, Victoria. I truly feel blessed every day. Not that I don't have bad moments, but I try to remember what is wonderful in my life, from the smallest to the biggest.
DeleteI haven't seen much of that lately. I am so glad that you did. I try to pay it forward when I can. Have a great Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteI hope you see more of it soon! Maybe it's easier in a small town, where gestures are personal and in person. Thanks for stopping by :)
DeleteI love sweet small kindnesses and when they come in collections like that you always feel super blessed :D
ReplyDeleteYes, me too, Eschelle! I really do feel blessed most days :)
DeleteI love getting those nuggets as well. I know we have been blessed a lot in our life. Something about living in the good ole Midwest. The atmosphere is friendly and full of generosity.
ReplyDeleteJill, you're right, there's just a different way of doing things in the Midwest, maybe because the weather gets so crazy here we have to depend on each other :)
DeleteWow, how awesome that people care like that. And you appreciate it!
ReplyDeleteHeather, it really is awesome! I like to share what others do to remind myself how lucky we are.
DeleteStephanie, this is lovely!
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to recognize those small but significant things in daily life!
Would you consider linking to the Catholic Mom series on #small successes? The link up is at the post you just visited.....you don't need to write for Catholic Mom or be Catholic or anything...just to celebrate small things in life and in doing so, encourage one another on our journey. Just think about it.
It would be great if you joined in.
You have been blessed by beautiful acts of kindness, but that's because YOU have been kind and generous to others....
Have a lovely day!
http://campfiresandcleats.blogspot.com/2013/10/small-success-thursday-living-in-white.html
Hi Chris. Sure I'd love to. Is it the link at the end of your comment? I will go to it tomorrow and check it out. I am a "former" Catholic, LOL, in that I was raised in the Catholic church but as an adult I joined a Methodist church and now go to Congregational. You are right, little things certainly go a long way in life.
DeleteLet us know how you roast them. We roasted out sunflower seeds from our garden this year for the first time and I think I may have gotten a bad recipe =0( I agree with Missy Homemaker ;-)
ReplyDeleteI will! We've yet to do it, but I'm looking forward to it. I need to do some searching around to see how to do it.
DeleteThank you for sharing that! It needs to be heard sometimes that kindness does in fact still exist!
ReplyDeleteIt's all too easy to forget in the daily grind and onslaught of news that people still are kind to each other.
DeleteI like that you've found good things in the world. It helps to overlook the not so good things- there's always a silver lining!
ReplyDeleteSome days I have to remind myself to look for the good, but it truly is there :) Some days it's easy and I see it all around.
Deletethis makes my day and does the heart good. blessings to those who have given of their hearts.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rory. It made my heart smile too. I love that they were all grown, made or caught things.
DeleteI love this!!! It's so easy to feel like the world has become more callous. Even the smallest acts of kindness (heck, I'll count the LA driver who let me in his lane!!) gives me hope that there are still good people who do the right thing. And what a reminder for me to practice even the smallest acts of kindness, with those I know and those I don't.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I'll take the really small ones too like the drivers. I remember when Brady was 3 and we lived in S.C. and we went to a mall at Christmas time (big mistake! Took two hours to get home!) that was jam packed with traffic. And no one would let us in. I told him even then, Brady, they should show more Christmas spirit and let us in. There is a lot of good in the world. But some days I just have to look harder for it.
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