Kindness Is Easy

I have met a lot of people and the one thing

that keeps occurring as a life lesson is this

Real Friends

Friendship is more than just saying you are friends, it's about investing in those friendships. Over time I have seen many friends come and go and it usually ends up with a person deciding to not invest just a little bit of their time. They go on past experiences and just assume you will always be there until you fade out of the picture because they simply didn't try to be there for you when you needed them the most. Friendships are important but it's a two way street...

I Will Be With You

I can't see how this will turn out...

It's that moment that makes us shake sometimes, especially when we are at our weakest moments, the moments that challenge our worst fears, our silent whispers but it's in those very moments that God speaks the loudest. He begins a good work in us and what He starts, He finishes! That's the comfort we can receive through each and every challenge that begs us to break, to give up, to throw in the towel. The real beauty is in God's perfect plan and His devoted compassionate love that abounds in wisdom and kindness...

The Covering

     Last night I was redoing my trailer, fixing it up and re-coating the cedar when a young kid came running up to the house to hand me my newspaper. He always smiles and says just a few words but his attitude is awesome. I stopped him to tell him a story. I told him about myself and when I was younger I did the newspaper just like him, I loved it and enjoyed the reward of awesome customers who appreciated my happy attitude. He smiled quickly and then I pulled out my wallet and gave him 10$ and said "I knew this one guy who always gave me money because that's what he did, he appreciated me and he told me that lots of times." So I looked the kid in the eyes and said "You have a good attitude, keep smiling, keep being awesome and enjoy what you do."
     As he turned around, he looked over his shoulder with a huge grin and said "Thank you so much!!!" It was like he just received the lottery for being himself. Now that I look back I could see why that one man always gave me money, he wasn't rich by any standard, in fact the house he lived in was weathered, some shingles were often missing and one of the windows was broken. The paint on the house was so faded that you could see the bare wood and the grass was always overgrown. Every time he came to the door he looked disheveled and in need of a good shower but he was in my opinion one of the most giving people, foul in language but someone who you by assumption would believe he was in all pretenses a bum. I learned early on in my daily newspaper route that you should never judge a book by it's cover. In fact on that same route I had a family that I thought had it all together and they spoke well, they smiled at all the right times and presented themselves in such a kind manner but when it was time to collect the money for the route, they often gave excuses, lied repeatedly to me and I lost money. I new from that moment on that when someone tells you something it doesn't mean much unless there is reputable action that follows.

Time given, Time taken

     I was heading out to home depot to get some materials when I saw a neighbor walking with her kids, as I drove by I could see a wince of sorrow in her eyes, a moment of emptiness behind the smile. I stopped the van and called her to me. As she walked back to the van I could clearly see she was broken inside. I asked her if she was okay and her eyes looked away as she began to tell her sad situation. You see she recently divorced and I knew her husband well, sadly everything fell apart and of course things got messy. 
     I remember speaking to the husband telling him that he needed to draw close to God and start removing the stress in his life with his work and start eating healthy. He looked fine but I felt I needed to say that, well during the ex-wife's conversation with me it obviously didn't happen. He had a sudden heart attack and was rushed to the hospital for a triple or quadruple bypass. His arteries where all clogged. I quickly stepped out of the van and ran around to hug the ex-wife and give her comfort. It was the first time it felt like I was holding a bunch of broken pieces melting like wax under a hot sun. Her kids came running up and she quickly put on a brave face and smiled and said "Well, have a great day Ernie, I'll talk to you soon." 
     Time passes quickly, sometimes we assume that tomorrow is a guarantee or at the very best our health will somehow be the same but we really never know and the time we have now is precious. Some people spend all their precious time trying to acquire things instead of embracing the people who so desperately want their love, friendship and kindness. 

Today I saw an opportunity to take a fantastic shot and as I focused on how I should take the photo, I could hear a light buzzing sound and then a CLICK. I took the shot and immediately looked around and just off to the right was an elderly woman looking at me with a big smile, she quickly chuckled and said "I stopped so you could take your shot." I laughed and said "Thank You" We quickly began laughing together and saying a few things back and forth with big smiles and I asked her if I could hug her and she had a BIG GRIN and said "OH of course, I LOVE hugs!" so I quickly gave her a gentle hug and laughed once again. She looked up at me and said "you just made my day, more than you know!" She asked for my name and then wheeled away for a cup of coffee. 
 

    Sometimes the littlest things can change everything in your day.