Notable Kindness

by Hope Wilbanks

It had been a long day.  The baby screamed all day.  My daughter was tired and grumpy when she returned home from school.  My head throbbed with each heartbeat.  All I wanted was a little peace and quiet.

After my husband’s deployment, it took every ounce of strength I had to hold it all together.  Suddenly I had become mother, father, caretaker, protector, doctor, lawyer, bill payer, and more.  The weight of the added responsibilities piled heavy on my shoulders.  I felt as though I would break at any minute.

I wanted to hide away.  I wanted to find a tiny hole to crawl into and never come out again.  It seemed as though my friends had forgotten who I was.  I felt terribly alone.

One morning as I walked to retrieve the mail, negative thoughts once again disturbed the still quiet of the day.  I slowly inhaled.  The fresh morning air filled my lungs with hope, and I exhaled to blow away all the tension and stress. 

I pulled down the lip of the box and reached inside for the handful of envelopes.  The flap snapped shut and I headed back down the driveway towards the house.  Bill, bill, junk…a card!

I tossed everything else aside and eagerly opened the small, white envelope.  A cute animal on the front cover brought a smile to my face.  The inside of the card contained a handwritten message from a friend, who just wanted to let me know that she was thinking of me.

That day seemed brighter.  A simple card lifted my spirits.  It reassured me that I was not alone, and that I did have friends who supported me during a difficult time.

Maybe you know someone who could use a simple act of kindness:

• A single parent
• A dejected child
• An elderly person
• A widow
• A mentally challenged person

The possibilities are endless.  How do you find people who would benefit from a note of encouragement?

• Keep your eyes open at church
• Visit school and ask the principle or teachers what child could use emotional support
• Talk to the Human Resources department at a nursing home
• Check out the local senior citizen’s center
• Drop by a shelter for abused women
• Leave anonymous cards with the director at a funeral home for bereaved families
• Call children’s hospitals to “adopt” children who need hope