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I saw this picture yesterday on Facebook and thought it beautifully simple and profound. What Mr. Rogers has to say is plain truth. Amid tragedy, and terrible circumstances there are always good, kind people there to pick up the pieces…lending a helping hand and providing a stable shoulder to cry on. It is amazing to watch, isn’t it? There are definitely still so many “helpers”.
In light of the Boston Marathon Bombing, I felt it best to save the recipe I had prepared for today’s post and share a little something else instead.
This is a book I read last week.
“Let It Go” is about a man (Chris Williams) who lives here in my city. Seven years ago his pregnant wife and two children were killed in a car accident by a drunk teenage driver. From the very night of the accident he chose to forgive the boy who was responsible for taking the life of his family members. I have been fascinated by this story from the time I heard reports of it here in the local news. How could any human being have the strength to forgive so quickly, and freely! It was a surprise to me, as I would imagine it to be to most people.
In the book Chris gives detailed explanation. He testifies of Christ and the blessings of forgiveness. While his road has not been easy, his choice to forgive has made the challenges of loss much easier to bear. Instead of embracing anger, hate or revenge he let go of those natural feelings and has taken hold of love, kindness…forgiveness.
I mention (and recommend) this book to you all today simply because, the world can be such a terrible place. There are plenty of reasons to be angry. Seeing innocent people become victim to senseless terrorism is so frustrating! Most of us shake our heads with the words “why” rolling over and over in our minds. I haven’t ever been able to come up with a sufficient answer to that question. Have you? I don’t know why these things happen. What I do know is, I want to be one of the “helpers”. I want to choose love and kindness. I hope to follow Chris Williams example of charity.
You can watch a video on the Mormon Channel called “My Burden Was Made Light” about Chris and his family. Click here, or on the picture above to see it.
I would love to give a copy of “Let It Go” to two of you dear readers. To enter just leave me a comment below telling me something good! It can be an act of kindness you have witnessed. It can be something sweet your child did or said. It can be something good you would like to do for someone else. What ever you choose. ๐ The giveaway will be open through Sunday night (April 21st). Winner will be announced Monday morning (April 22).
My family and I are praying for those of you effected by the terrible Boston Marathon Bombing. May you feel the love of God supporting you during this difficult time.
When I watched the video of the Boston Marathon and saw so many men and women running to help those injured , not worrying about their own safety, my heart was so touched. This was a moving example to me of the wonderful, good, selfless individuals that live in America and make it a great place to be.
My sweet 9 year old son brought me breakfast in bed. It was such a thoughtful surprise on an ordinary school day morning. He even put a little foil wrapped chocolate from his Easter candy on the side of the plate. Boy, do I feel loved!
Our neighborhood put together a neighborhood garden three years ago. The first year we had 9 families, last year we had 24 and this year we have 32 families involved. We all work together (not their own individual plots) and the closeness that we feel brings more joy than the bounteous harvest we have picked. I strongly encourage every neighborhood to do this and watch the closeness increase between neighbors!
My husband’s family has let us stay at their house for the past week while the floors in our house have been refinished (hard wood varnish stinks like crazy). They have three children living at home, so adding us to their household has made things a little crazy for them, but they haven’t complained and even told us that they enjoy having us there. They are wonderfully giving and caring people, and we love them very much.
Sorry for the second post (don’t count this one), but I meant to say that my husband’s brother’s family. It’s a mouthful that I missed including. ๐
I heard a story on the radio the day of Boston. The end of it was, “Just remember there are more of us – the good people.”
My daughter Chloe is 15 and is very beautiful inside and out. She is very fortunate to have many friends in her life. She told me that during her lunch at school she will set with a girl that is not so fortunate as herself. She has always taken this girl under her wing all thru her school years and included her in after school activities. This just makes me very proud of my daughter!
I had a pacemaker put in last year and couldn’t pick up my 1 year old or 4 year old for 6 weeks. All of my neighbors were so great. They helped me with babysitting and brought me meals. There is a lot of good in this world!
My daughter gave me a big hug and said “I love you” out of the blue. Little moments like that keep you going. ๐
The other night we were attending my son’s first baseball game. To watch we had to pay three bucks to get in. As we made our way to pay, one mother with a baby and a son playing tee ball didn’t realize she would have to pay to watch her son and obviously didn’t have any money with her. As she was calling her husband I simply went over and gave her three bucks and walked away. Hopefully it helped in changing her mood because she was not happy about having to pay/or having any money with her to get into the game.