Honoring People that Live with Kindness in their Hearts
Caring Heart Awards
An Antidote to Sadness
During this pandemic with the need to shelter in place, there is only one thing I have missed. Many people have missed eating in restaurants and shopping, but the only thing I have deeply missed is hugs, especially from my mom. It has been over 140 days since I have hugged my 96-year-old mom. Luckily, my mom lives in a downstairs apartment, so I can see her through her window. While I stand outside her window we talk on the phone, it reminds me how you communicate with people in jail. It is not optimal, but it does bring a smile on her face and mine. So, when one of my loyal readers advised how her art teacher communicated love to her mom in a nursing home, I knew I needed to honor her with a “Caring Heart Award.” Caring Heart Awards are given to everyday people that do acts of kindness. Audrey Bottrell Parks, like me has not been able to give her mom a hug since early March. Audrey had a choice to be sad about not being able to hug her mom or to do something to make the situation better. She thought about having a concert in the yard, but the residents were not allowed to open their windows. Taking action was her antidote for her sadness. Audrey decided to paint cheerful pictures on the residents’ windows, to cheer them and to let them know there are people that care. She practiced at home on her sliding glass door to make sure the painting looked good from the outside and inside. She found if she painted thin enough the picture would seem to glow. Audrey and two of her friends painted windows the first day. The teary-eyed staff came to see the windows. The staff explained how difficult it has been for the residents and the staff. She came back numerous days until there were [...]
How Strong is Your Net?
I don’t know what it is, but this year the colors of the spring flowers just seem brighter. The daffodils, the forsythia bushes, redbud and magnolia trees just seem more vibrant. This made me think about how some people are just vibrant and full of life, and Mary came immediately to mind. I asked Mary what brings such joy to her life. She responded that she just loves people. She gets joy when she can do something to bring joy to someone else or to make another’s life easier. Nothing makes her happier than seeing her own joy reflected in others’ faces. Jesus told us to be fishers of men, and Mary believes that God desires for us to be connected with others. She explained, "It is as if God has given us a big fishing net. Each time we connect with another in His love, those two points on the net are connected, and the net becomes bigger and stronger. When we disconnect with someone, whether intentionally or not, the net weakens in that one place. By reconnecting, we can help add or restore strength to the net God has given us." Mary lives her life caring for others. She attempts to exhibit God’s love to those she meets. She also works to keep old relationships connected. She recently returned from a 20-day road trip where she reconnected with friends and family she hadn’t seen in a while. For some it had been only months, and for others it had been nearly 50 years! She saw more than 30 people in all, and she even made a couple of new connections. The purpose of Mary’s trips was to see how people in her net are doing, and she believes God leads her to know which connections to make each time. There are always surprises. In this last trip, she said what she noticed most was increased [...]
Gifts of Warmth and Music
“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful, that’s what matters to me.” Steve Jobs Congratulations to Rick and Reba, this month’s Caring Heart Award winners! Rick and Reba, owners of Car Fi in Springfield, Missouri, were inspired by the book “Meaningful Work: A Quest To Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, And Feed Your Soul,” By Shawn Askinosie and Lawren Askinosie. Shawn discusses the need of a business to look in your own neighborhood to find a need. The Car Fi business is located on busy commercial street between two bus stops. People were walking and biking in front of their business in freezing weather without coats. They knew they had to do something. They did not hesitate, they did something immediately. Reba went to several thrift stores and bought some coats and placed them in their parking lot with the sign, “Need a coat? Take One. Have a coat? Leave one.” Last winter over 1000 coats found new owners. This winter even more coats were given. It is not unusual for 20 coats to find new recipients on cold days. Due to so many coats, gloves, and hats being donated, a building was placed in front of the store called “ House of Coats." It keeps things dry when weather is rainy and provides a storage area until the items are put out on the street coat rack. One of the recipients told Reba that he saw the street light shining in their parking lot one evening when it was snowing. He was on his way to a friend’s home to get warm. He said the light looked like a beacon as he was biking the street. There was nothing he needed more in that moment than a warm coat. There was no where else he could have gone in [...]
Servant’s Heart
No one is more cherished in this world than someone that lightens the burden of another. Joseph Addison Congratulations to this month’s Caring Heart Award winner, Janet Weber. The Caring Heart Award is given to ordinary people that demonstrate every day kindness. Life has not always been easy for Janet. Her first marriage was difficult due to her husband’s alcoholic abuse which necessitated a divorce. Janet had to find a way to support herself and her two children ages two and four. She moved in with her parents, learned to drive and found a job. Later she discovered the love of her life and married him. Unfortunately, seven months later he had a massive heart attack and died. She moved back with her parents and uncle and stayed with them until her two children finished college. Not long after, her mother passed away leaving Janet to care for her elderly father and uncle for many years, while working full time and welcoming her first grandchildren into their family. As her aunts and uncles aged, Janet was there to drive them to appointments cemetery visits, and assist with business issues. She was always available to help family and friends. You really can’t control what life throws at you but you can control how you react to it. As Janet’s daughter, Dawn, states, “Janet is strong and resilient.” As her sister-in-law, Elaine, states, “Janet through it all continued to be the best Aunt to my sons and a supportive friend to me through my troubled times. Janet has been so kind to me and my family and a long list of others throughout her life. To list all she has done for us would make a book. As I suffered through an illness, she sat in my hospital room with another dear friend night and day, every day for a month. Janet never complains, she only gives help and [...]
Can One Person Make a Difference?
Can one person make a difference? The answer is "Yes!" if your job is social director of an assisted living facility. The caregivers are the necessity for the residents as they are needed for their everyday physical needs. Is that enough? No, it is not enough, you need a "Diane!" Someone that boosts the residents spirits, some one that make something special out of the ordinary. I personally (as did my mom) love her seasonal decorations that just liven-up the facility with love, hope, and joy. The decorations transformed the institution into something beyond walls and hallways. Diane brings out "the heart" of the facility. She makes an ordinary day into a special Bingo day. She gets the residents active in the activities, no easy task when many think they would rather be alone. I have worked with many people in many different jobs. I have to say that Dianne is one the most dedicated employees I have seen. Her energy seems boundless and her fun colorful outfits and fun personality is just what the doctor ordered. By putting her heart into her job she transforms an institutional setting into a homey, fun place for the residents. She is always willing to give herself to raise the spirit of those around her. She truly cares about taking her job to another level, to raise the spirit of the people she interacts with. She is such a treasure and I'm so glad she sees the residents as her friends and my mom is one of them. Can one person make a difference? The answer is “Yes” when you bring such joy to your job.