While doing some last minute Christmas shopping, my mother and I met a man who looked like he could use some help getting through his several pages of shopping lists. We spent roughly two hours assisting him with his lists before it was time to say goodbye. As we parted ways this man handed me a folded piece of paper with the words "Touch Someone Else" scribbled on it. When my mother and I returned to the car, I unfolded the paper and was shocked to find a $5o bill tucked inside.
After thinking about the best way to complete this challenge, I realized that if managed wisely, $50 dollars can actually amount to so much more. Rather than turning around and spending it, I wanted to find a way that I could really make a difference. I would like to eventually set up my own charity using the $50 dollars this man gave me, but I understand that is highly ambitious and will take some time.
So in the meantime, I would like to ask for your help. Will you please use this blog to share your own inspirational stories of how your life has been touched by someone else or small and simple (or big and not so simple) things that you have done to touch the lives of others? I would love to hear of your experiences as well as any ideas that you may have to best fulfill this challenge to "Touch Someone Else".
Thank you so much for your support,
-D
Danica,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great story! Isn't it amazing how one act of kindness on your part has touched your heart? While this happened a few months ago, I can tell that you have been thinking about this event since. Sounds like you have held on to the $50 too - everytime you look at the bill, the memories come back.
I have had the opportunty to be touched by someone in my life as well that I will remember forever. Although I don't actually remember her name, I remember her "act".
This wonderful sweet woman would come to visit me in my home month after month as a fellow member of my church. Although I attended maybe once or twice a year, this sweet woman would come to "check up on me" every month and bring her small children along as well. She did not speak English that well and yet she came to be my friend and find out if there was anything at all that she could do for me. I kept thinking that I should be the one asking her if I could help her out. She persistently "loved me" unconditionally and told me she was "praying for me" and that it would be the best thing ever if I would return to church. She told me that God's blessings were waiting for me there. She encouraged me so much that I finally did go back to church - first for her, and then for me - and my children.
I have been faithfully attending church ever since, married the love of my life for time and all eternity, and thank God for this sweet woman who shared herself with me asking nothing in return.
I now ask God each day to send the people into my life I can help and He has done that over and over again. I help people get their health in better shape at my Wellness Center and have been truly blessed by the new close friends I have all over the country.
Thank you Danica for your quest to "touch someone else" - you are an angel!
Pamela
Dear Danica,
ReplyDeleteI would like to share an experience that happened to me while up here at Brigham Young University-Idaho Spring 2008 Semester.
I had gone with a couple of my friends to a gymnastics place where the had trampolines, a foam pit, and a bunch of other gymnastics stuff. My friend Karissa challenged me to a "how high can you run up the foam wall" contest and I couldn't say no. We both ran up the wall to see how far we could go and when I came down, my right foot landed slightly on and off the foam pad underneath. I heard a "pop, POP!" and slowly, a severe pain crept into my ankle. Karissa helped me over to a chair and my friend Tommy gave me a ride home.
That night, some of my friends were participating in an Ultimate Frisbee game. I was just going to sit at home because I couldn't walk and was sad that I wouldn't be able to go. My roommate, Nicole would have none of that! She insisted that I climb on her back while she gave me walked me down the stairs from our apt. on the third floor, down to the car and off to the Ultimate Frisbee game. So, just as she had insisted, I climbed on to her back and she caried me down the stairs, over to the car and off to the fields.
The next morning, I was not able to attend class so decided to write my English teacher and tell him the reason why I couldn't go. I didn't have a computer or internet upstairs, so I would have to hobble my way down the stairs to the computer room in my apartment complex. I had only gone a couple of feet when another girl named Amber from a different room saw me. I hadn't ever formally met her, but she offered me a piggy-back ride and took me downstairs to the computers downstairs.
After getting crutches, I tried to go to class the next day. I hadn't gotten far before I was already sweating from the effort that it took to crutch myself out of the parking lot, and I still had at least ten more minutes of a walk without crutches to my class. Before I had even gotten out of the parking lot, a car passed slowly by. They stopped, rolled down their windows and offered me a ride. They were on their way to the temple at the top of the hill and the Hinkley building (where I was going) wasn't far from the temple. I gratefully accepted their offer and climbed into the already packed car.
All three of these incidents have truly touched my life. Nicole, Amber, and the strangers in the car had all done these Christ-like acts of service for me that, although they might not have been a big deal to them, meant the world to me. I'll never forget those amazing experiences that I had and will never forget all those that helped me when I sprained my ankle.
Hey Danica-
ReplyDeleteKarissa posted a blog on our families site and I thought I would help you out.
When I think about ways I have been served I can't help thinking about when my brother Steve died nearly 10 years ago now. I have images of so many people coming to our aid from my aunt and uncle on their knees scrubbing our kitchen floor to a member of our ward donating a van so we could transport our large family to all the places we would need to go. I'll never forget a few friends coming over when I was especially sad. We went out for ice cream and talked a bit. Life moves on and I am grateful for the efforts of everyone to serve in a small way.
"Never supress a generous thought." Sister Hinckley.
A lot was shared during that time and I'm grateful for every generous thought.
I love this opportunity to think back about so many kind acts I have been on the receiving end of over the years. One I would like to share actually happened just yesterday, one I was privileged to participate in.
ReplyDeleteAn elderly friend passed away last Monday, April 20th. Many family members gathered at her home. Prior to the funeral service many friends from church provided a meal at the home for 30 people. As I delivered homemade rolls I watched as car after car pulled carrying loving friends with contributions to a wonderful meal. This little army bore salads, desserts, potato casseroles, ham, and more rolls. I thought about how much good can be done when many generously work together, expressing love and concern through our time and abilities. It makes me happy to know that serving others is alive and well in our world!
Love you!
A. Lesli
I don't have a Blogspot account, so could you forward this to her so she can put it on her blog? Thanks! :
ReplyDeleteA couple of months after we were married, my wife Jamie attended a weekend seminar in Seattle, which is a five and a half hour drive from Spokane across the mountains. At the end of the seminar, we were headed north to the Lynnwood area to visit a friend of hers, when, while on the freeway, the Toyota Rav4 we were driving started making a horrible sound and the 5th gear stopped working. It took awhile for us to figure out what was going on, and after a visit to a mechanic, we determined the synchro for overdrive had gone out. Planning for this same trip, we had just gotten the clutch repaired and were pretty bummed out. We could drive only as high as 4th gear, and topped out at about 50 mph. We were stuck in Seattle, and realized we would need to get back to work Monday, and to make things worse, Snoqualmie pass was just reported closed due to avalanches, blocking the freeway back to Spokane. We were in trouble. We called up a friend of ours, Brent, who had us drive to his house in Burien. Brent insisted that he drive us to Spokane over Stevens pass, which was the longer way around the mountains by two or three hours, depending on the snow drifts, so we could get to our jobs on Monday. As a business owner, Brent said he could skip work on Monday. We told him about our bad luck with the Toyota, and he said he'd drag it home with us on a trailer he had. So we rolled the Rav up onto the trailer and, at about 7:00 PM Sunday night, left for Spokane to meet whirling snow across the roads on Stevens pass. The trip was slow, snowy, and it got later and later. Brent drove all night, with everyone sleeping but himself. We got to Spokane very early in the morning, unloaded the Rav4, and Brent went on to a family members' to catch up on sleep. We thanked him up and down, and Brent's only request was that we pay it forward.
Ian Hansen
A few weeks ago, I was in charge of bringing dinner to my good friend who had just had her 4th baby, but in the midst of it, my family came down with the stomach flu. I was at home with my sick twins who were about 18 months old and I knew it was going to be impossible to bring dinner over. I called my friend and told her I wouldn't be able to bring her dinner, to which she replied that my dinner was on the way. I couldn't believe she would stop everything to make dinner for me when I was supposed to be making it for her! She has the amazing capacity to give even when she's already given everything she has! I want to be just like her.
ReplyDeleteSoudns like a neat idea! Here's a story for you!
ReplyDeleteEver since Brandon (my husband) and I moved from Idaho Falls, it's been really hard to make friends, for some reason. I get lonely feeling sometimes, just wishing that I could meet a friend who basically has the same interests as me.
One day, I was feeling particularly disapointed in my lack of friends when I recieved a letter in the mail. I had no idea who it was, but it was someone who lived here too. So I opened it up and it was an Easter card from my new visiting teacher saying that she was looking forward to getting to know me and would see me soon! It was such a wonderful feeling to recieve that letter and to know that she was excited to meet me! It made me so happy to know that I have a visitng teacher who took time out of her day to let me know she cares. :)
I love this idea and when I first read about it, I opened the comments page, ready to write. I set my hands on the keys and nothing. Nothing came to me. I stared blankly at the page in confusion. I felt so grateful for so many things in this world and my life... and I couldn't come up with even *one* example of an act of kindness and service to share?
ReplyDeleteI left the page open on my computer as a reminder, and have spent the past couple of days thinking about and mulling over what service means to me and how I define it, trying to come up with examples and a story.
So, after a few days of pondering and a beautiful and foggy morning run, here's what I've come up with:
For me, service and serving others is woven throughout my day. It comes in many different names and appears in many different forms. From compassion, acknowledgement, kindness and thoughtfulness, to going beyond expectations and reaching out with consciousness and deliberateness.
I see it when someone lets me into a crowded lane on the highway. I know it when I look into the eyes of a homeless man, smile and say, "hi," acknowledging his existence as a member of the human race, even if I cannot give him a dollar.
I feel it within the community I live. When I, or a friend takes a risk and is admired and encouraged for that leap of faith... even if we fail (actually, especially when we fail). The knowledge that others believe in us and find inspiration in our perseverance and determination is a service to us and everyone. It creates an environment where it's safe to grow and expand. This happens when someone starts a new company or business; begins a blog; starts writing a book; goes back to school; or takes up a new sport. The silent support and encouragement is a beautiful feeling.
Service happens when someone cares enough to give us feedback or criticism, or points out when we've been tactless. It happens when we take a moment of our time to post a comment to a blog to help someone out with a project. And it happens when we offer up that prime parking spot in the front to someone who is rude and in a hurry.
I know it when I stop running during a race to pick up someone else's trash that had fallen. I know it when I remember someone's name and it makes them feel important and seen-they know they are part of something. I know it when I used to talk with my grandmother before she passed and heard the same stories and had the same conversations over and over, yet responded with patience and love and interest.
I feel it when I'm tired from a day of shopping and just want to be home and a stranger smiles at me and I'm reminded that there are reasons to smile. I feel it when a friend buys a coffee or breakfast for me... just because.
And when, a few weeks ago, my fiance took hours out of an already busy day to set up a re-fueling station for me on a long run, and then sat for another hour that same day, waiting to run with me for an hour, simply because he loves me and supports my goal, took my breath away and overwhelmed me with gratitude.
There are large and small gestures of service every day in our lives. Some are easy to see and acknowledge... others are more subtle. We don't always know when a smile, or a kind word makes a difference in someone's life.
I love reading all the stories here and look forward to more. Thank you Danica (and Karissa!) for encouraging us to think about and acknowledge the power of simple kindnesses.
_Amy C
Kristina and I were blessed this last winter by a really neat neighbor that we have just next door. Utah gets a fair amount of snow each winter and at our home we have a driveway that is two car widths and could probably park 6 cars. Every time it snowed this past winter our neighbor would get on his little John Deere riding lawn mower with his snow blower attachment and would go down the block clearing all of the driveways that needed it. I would go to work with sometimes 6 inches of snow in my driveway and then come home and it was all plowed out. I did not shovel snow out of my driveway once during the entire winter. It was a great service to us, since I would have had to do it with a shovel, and it is a fairly good sized driveway. It was great.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was very, very ill for several months expecting my first baby, I lived overseas and had no family around but my good husband to help take care of me, let alone all the other things I was usually responsible for. I was blessed to have several friends from church who brought meals to us and helped get laundry and cleaning done- not just once, but ongoing for about 5 months. That's a long time to keep giving service to someone who can't repay it anytime in the near future!
ReplyDeleteMy mom taught me an important principle- often we can't "repay" through service the same people who've served us, but we will get the chance to do something for someone else down the road who will need it at the time we ARE able to serve. And it's okay to accept it when we need it, and not feel like there is something expected in return. There is an art to being able to receive as well as to give. In receiving graciously, we allow someone else the blessings that serving brings to them as well.
Now any time I have a friend who is sick while pregnant, I try extra hard to remember to call them, stop by for a visit and to do a load of laundry, and ask what they're craving before I bring food over. Those things meant the world to me; and it's those women whom I have never been able to repay that helped get both my boys here. Because of that, I genuinely mean it when I tell a sick, expectant friend, "I would do ANYTHING for you- so you'd better name it!"
-Arian
"I have been touched by countless acts of service all through my life. I have been extremely blessed to have whom I consider to be one of the best mothers on the earth as MY mother. Her service to me has made me the person I am today - 100% - simple as that. When I was in grade-school my mother would cook a hot breakfast EVERY day. She never wanted me, nor any of my siblings, to go to school on a stomach of cold cereal. As a child, my drawers were always full with clean and folded clothing. Only once I left home did I realize what a service my mother had done for me all my life. What a sad experience it was to come home each day from college classes and find my bed unmade and room unorganized. Why didn't it just stay clean like it used to!? Because my dearest mother wasn't there. Her service has comforted me, guided me, warmed me, and most important, left me a strong and enduring legacy of the blessings and peace of service. My mother says she finds no greater joy than in watching her children succeed. (Karissa - that "success" is in spiritual things, than in others.) Truley than, not only for me, but her also, that service has brought the greatest joy she has hoped for.
ReplyDeleteHer example of service has driven me to want to serve others. I am currently invlolved in a 2 year service project where I dedicate all my time and efforts to helping uplfit other's lifes through restored gospel truths - the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I find joy in watching other's happiness increase, just as my mother did in watching her children (there's nine of us including me) succeed. Thank you mother dearest for all those years of service. I will be eternally grateful to you.
Your service has made me want to serve others. I love you!"
Ammon Taylor
This is a great idea. I have a story for you, even if I am only 13...I still have a lifetime full of them. It's actually more of my friends experience, but it still works.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in 4th or 5th grade, my friend's little sister Rachel decided to bring their cat for show and tell. They didn't have the cat on a leash that day, and as they were opening the door to their van, Mellow (the cat) hopped out of the car and into the school grounds. Of course my friend Sarah was traumatized the whole first part of the day. When it came time for recess, we went out and got all of our friends together to help find Mellow. We searched the grounds all over to no avail. The next recess we had, we went out and took a different approach. Sarah and I went to a little corner, and folded our arms and prayed silently. We didn't find them, but the next day, Sarah told me that they had found Mellow. She had prayed that they would find Mellow under a silver car. When she searche under the cars at recess, she didn't find Mellow. After school that day, Sarah and her mom went to the parking lot. Sarah thoroughly looked under all the cars and up in the engine of a silver car, was Mellow. That experience has definitely touched me.
Through the process of writing this expereince I have remembered another one that I'd like to share.
When I was very little, I got a doll. I remember it was kind of antique-looking, but I loved it all the same. The day I got it, we drove past a homeless family. When we got home, my mom was kind enough to get a pile of things that we didn't need together for the family. She asked me for my brand new doll. I had some trouble giving it up, but I knew it was right, so I gave it up anyway. I was so sad to lose that doll. I don't remember it very well, but my mom told me that the little girl was so happy to get the doll. At the time I wasn't happy giving it up, but now that I look back on it, she needed it more than I did. I'm so glad that I gave it up now!
-Heidi(By the way, I'm your sister Karissa's niece!)
This is Karissa's sister-in-law Kimberlee--Heidi's Mom. I just wanted you to know I totally support your great idea. Sorry, no story--I do very little to redeem myself in the world, but I'd love to offer what I can to your fifty dollar "Touch Someone Else" cause. What kind of good work are you seeking to do? What need in the world do you want to fill? Who needs your help the very most? Do you have a focus for your new Charity? I'll have Heidi watch your blog. Let me know when things are a little more concrete and I might be able to organize a benefit recital here in the Twin Cities or something. Maybe I could donate a few items (my purses or designer pillows) for an auction for your charity?
ReplyDelete