The holiday season seems to bring out the best in many people. One of the things I enjoy the most this time of year is hearing or reading stories of inspiration or recollections of a moment when a person went out of his/her way to help out someone in need or to make someones day a little more special. The list of tales is quite long and often I am amazed at humanity and our ability to do the right thing when it is most needed, or simply to bring a smile to someones face without expecting anything in return. Stories of mysterious or anonymous gift-givers appear frequently in December and it truly warms my heart.
Personally, there are a lot of stories that have touched me, but there is one in particular that makes me smile (and tear up a bit) each time I watch it.
I encourage you to watch the video, if you haven't seen it, because it really is one of those instances in which no one was expecting to have exactly what they asked for sitting at their destination.
I cannot think of much that is more rewarding than giving without expecting something in return. Some of my favorite memories involve giving a gift to someone I knew was in need and never revealing who the "mystery Santa" was that provided the gift. It's a great feeling, certainly! I always wish that we could all keep the spirit of giving and generosity alive throughout the year.
For this giveaway, I'd love to hear about a time (or more than one, if you choose) that you gave something to a person in need. Did the person know that you were the gift-giver? What was his/her reaction? If you've never had a memorable gift-giving moment with someone, I encourage you to go out and do so and post your response here. It could be something simple like paying for coffee for the person behind you in line, donating to a local organization, or even offering kindness to someone such as opening a door for a person with his/her hands full. There are really so many opportunities every day that I will leave that up to you to decide.
The gift for this round of giveaways is a MonkeyLectric M204 light set.
All entries for this giveaway must be time/date marked no later than Monday, December 15, 2014 at 10:00am MST. Your reply will serve as the date/time stamp, so please check to make sure your response goes through (There have been some issues with Blogger sending comments into a black hole, never to be seen again). I highly recommend copying your response before clicking the reply button. If you don't see that your "comment will be visible after approval," then it probably didn't go through. I'd prefer to delete duplicates than have someone miss out, so please don't be afraid to send something twice if you're unsure. I will do my best to be quick with approving comments/replies to help facilitate the process as best I can.
The winner will be announced no later than Wednesday, December 17, 2014, so check back here to see if you're the winner.
One December day it was cold in Atlanta, everyone was bundled up in jackets, hats, gloves, etc. On my way to my building a man asked me for some change. I didn't have any and nicely told him so. He responded with 'Happy Holidays' and shook my hand. Through my glove I could feel his hands were freezing cold. He was bundled up except for his hands. So I offered him my gloves. He gladly accepted, we introduced ourselves, and then both of us continued on. But for that winter, on cold days, he would always happen to be around, yell my name and hold up his hands to show off the gloves that I had given him.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a great story, Corny! Thank you for taking the time to share it. Love hearing these moments so very much.
DeleteGreat story. Moments of kindness help us be better people.
ReplyDeleteThis summer, a friend of mine had a yard sale and several her other friends participated. One of her friends had just gotten the okay to move out of her apartment into another one that she had rented. This person simplyhad way too much stuff to fit in her new apartment, but doesn't get rid of things well. She also doesn't have very much money, and was in need of some financial help but wouldn't ask for it. I ended up by taking all the stuff she brought to the yard sale, buying it, and then taking it to Good Will. She doesn't know I did this, but our mutual friend does, and she thanked me many times for it. She shared with me that her friend was able to pay the electric bill with the money she got from the yard sale.
ReplyDeleteAnother great story. It's sometimes difficult to give to someone who needs it, but doesn't want to accept the gift, and I think this was a perfect way to connect the money with a person who really needed it. Thanks for sharing your story! :O)
DeleteWhen I give gifts to friends and loved ones, I tend to lean towards the "Give a man a fish" mentality, and try to give at least one thing that either contributes to a skill that person is learning (such as photography and art tools for my son) or gives them a chance to learn a new skill that they wouldn't have tried on their own. My favorite of these was the basic beer making kit I got for my BFF a few years ago. She had kind of made sounds about being interested in trying it, but never would have bought it for herself, so I got her a basic kit and the fixings for a couple of batches of home brew. Within a month she had made it all and gone out to the local homebrew supply store for a bigger setup! Now, three years later, she has her own label and continues to develop her skills, with the hope of opening a microbrewery in the future. All from a simple gift!
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