On Kindness & Paying it Forward

I am loving seeing so much about Random Acts of Kindness lately!

I know it's nothing new, there are lots of people who show random acts of kindness all the time. But suddenly i am reading about it & seeing pictures of it ALL THE TIME. Just since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, actually. It is such a welcome change amidst all the political & religious rants I've seen on my Facebook news feed.

I think that the shooting inspired a lot of people to show some love and kindness. To stop being so BUSY & so ANGRY at every little traffic light & every long line. It has definitely inspired me in that sense. I'll be in traffic or in a long line of some sort, where i know I'd normally get mad... but it just doesn't seem to be that big of deal now. Instead, I am inspired to be kind to the person at the cash register or the one holding up traffic. 

I know that Ann Curry started 26 Acts, where you do 26 random acts of kindness in honor of each of the 26 victims from Sandy Hook. (If you click on that last link, make sure you check out the acts of kindness posted underneath the article!) I love what she started, and I have some friends participating, but I am seeing people doing more random acts of kindness that don't even know about 26 Acts, too! It's happening. And it's awesome.  

First, I saw that a new blog friend, Kelly B, did a whole post on kindness & paying it forward.  The pics were screenshots from her own facebook, and it was pretty inspiring!

In fact, it inspired my blog friend Kelly to leave $20 at a gas pump for a lucky recipient in Minnesota. I loved the note she included with it!

Then my friend Laura, who can see the playground of her daughter's elementary school from her house, shared with me that she noticed two teachers that actually play ball with the kids at recess. Every day! She loved that, and decided to do something. These guys probably don't even know she exists, but she noticed them & gave gift cards to her daughter's teacher to pass on to them. I love that!

My friend Charlynn has her birthday dinner every year at Zippy's. This year, she accepted no gifts, instead asking everyone to bring items to donate for the homeless. She made what she called "Blessing Bags" & passed them out to our homeless as part of her 26 Acts. Love it!

She also did things like: 

Put target & starbucks gift cards on windshields.

Put diapers & wipes with a sweet note at changing tables in public restrooms.

Left a bouquet of flowers on cars.

Just some ideas. :)

                                                                                                    Source: mybluecanoe.tumblr.com via Amanda on Pinterest

All of these things have had me so inspired! On Thursday night, my husband and i were out Christmas shopping. We decided to have dinner at the Cheesecake Bistro. We sat analyzing people at other tables (guessing what stage of the relationship they're in, guessing what they do for a living, etc... it's my favorite game! Haha!) when i found myself REALLY wanting to bless one of these tables. We couldn't decide which one to do it for, but when we got our ticket, i said, "Hey - why don't we bless our waitress?" Y'all. She was so sweet and a great waitress. And probably a poor college student, ha! We left her a $20 tip, which was about a 70% tip.


I know waitresses work hard & that most of their money is made off of tips, and that a lot of people leave LOUSY tips. So it was fun to do that for her. And i hope it made her day. And now i'm like...LOOKING for ways to bless others!

                                                                                                           Source: Uploaded by user via Cathy on Pinterest

Facebook Statuses I saw in my feed yesterday & today: 

"To the secret santa that put a Starbucks gift card on my windshield today... THANK YOU!" 

"...Strangest thing just happened while out to eat. A lady just walked over, hugged me and said, "Your little boy is precious, Merry Christmas". What I didn't see is that she had placed a $20 bill on the table. I didn't see it until we were leaving! How absolutely sweet!" 

The recipient of the $20 didn't feel like she needed it, and decided to pay it forward. 

                                                                                                       Source: shop.thefoundary.com via Jana on Pinterest

Man. I'm loving it! So i had to share. :) It's exciting & fun. And who knows who you are helping. My friend who received the Starbucks gift card? She has been in & out of St. Jude's with her daughter for the past year or two. It's been an incredibly tough year for them. You just never know who you are helping. And even if you don't have the means to help people financially... you can do it just by being kinder and more patient with those around you.


(Please note: Nothing can bring back those beautiful sweet children. But showing kindness instead of hate is definitely making the world a better place. Please still be in prayer for the families of Newtown.)