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Monthly Archives: August 2018

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 love.  Janet acts with love and compassion.”

As the Bible states; “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.”  We can look at family requests as obligations or as opportunities to reflect and spread God’s Love. Kristina, who is married to Janet’s grandson, states that she will drop everything to do a kind deed for someone else to make their life a little easier, no matter how big or small.  Janet truly has a servant’s heart.

Janet has four grandchildren.  She has watched, participated and loved them through their growing years and college.  I love that as each child graduated and entered the full time working world, she would support them the first year out of school by doing their laundry and ironing for them.  How sweet is life when Grandma takes that one grown up chore off your plate while you learn a job.  What a wonderful way for her to build a connection with each grandchild.

The effort we put in to bring happiness to others is truly the beginning of a happier and content life for us.  To a Servant Heart, nothing brings more joy than helping others. Kristina also described Janet as, “Fun-loving – Jan loves to laugh, especially with her grandchildren who make her laugh the most”.  It is the everyday moments that bring Janet joy.

Irene, Jan’s friend, was asked to describe Janet in two words.  Her answer was, “My two words would be ‘valuable’ because I can’t imagine her not being my friend, and ‘kind-hearted’ because that is who she is. I feel it is an honor being in her life.”

What two words would your family and friends use to describe you?

 

Thanks to Elaine for nominating her sister-in-law for a Caring Heart Award.   If you know someone that deserves to be recognize for their everyday kindness. Please drop us an e-mail.

Staying in Touch: Barbara Hirsh can be reached at info@LiveKinder.com  I love hearing your kindness stories.  Please sign-up for almost weekly kindness message at www.LiveKinder.com or follow LiveKinder on Facebook! 

Are People That Read More Compassionate?

Several recent studies have shown readers of fiction books are more compassionate than those who read nonfiction or don’t read. Social scientists have found reading literary fiction increases the capacity of the reader to identify with the the characters of the book, this capacity is known as empathy.

Autobiographies were not included in the study, but they have the same effect on me.  I recently read, “A Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a Boy Soldier” be Ishmael Beah.  The back cover states, “At the age of twelve, Ishmael Beah fled attacking rebels in Sierra Leone and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found he was capable of truly terrible acts.  At sixteen, he was removed from fighting by UNICEF, and through the help of the staff at his rehabilitation center, he learned to how to forgive himself, to regain his humanity, and finally to heal.”

“A Long Way Gone,” was a book selection for our book club.  I was not looking forward to reading about the horror of the Sierra Leone Civil War (1991-2002).   Before I read this book, all I remembered about the Sierra Leone war was two minute blurbs on the evening news.  I’m grateful I read this book to understand the nature and the impact of these violent African conflicts. It made me think of the horror of Beah’s life and the contrast of his reality to the daily life of my children born at the same time.  A central message of “A Long Way Gone” is that war, hatred, and violence consume everything in a society, especially the children.  According to the United Nations, there are over 300,000 child soldiers around the world.

Beah not only survived his past but importantly kept his humanity.  Thank goodness for UNICEF that not only rescued Beah but also rehabilitated him. (Who knew the dimes and nickels we collected when trick and treating for UNICEF did so much good.)  They helped him to forgive himself and to find himself.  His passion for bringing a greater understanding to the experiences of child soldiers has since led Beah to his current role as a U.N. ambassador for children affected by war.

After reading this book, I knew I had to do something to help the children. I was totally overwhelmed of what a difference UNCIF made in Beah’s life. I went to the UNICEF page.    I found two easy ways to help:

(1) They have an extensive gift store with 10,000 unique items from around the world.   If you want to save the world as you shop, click here.

(2)  Another option is to give an inspired gift in the name of someone you love. Click here.  Each of my grandchildren will have a gift dedicated to them for their birthday.  For Violet, my basketball lover, six basketballs will be given, dedicated in her name for her October birthday. I’m so grateful for the joy of grandchildren and the fact that they live in loving environments.  I’m hoping the conversation with the soon to be six year old will arise awareness of conditions beyond her home.

To watch a YouTube interview with Ishmael Beah on being a child soldier, click here.

“I was sad to leave, but I was also pleased to have met people outside of Sierra Leone. Because if I was to get killed upon my return, I knew that a memory of my existence was alive somewhere in the world.”
― Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

Staying in Touch: Barbara Hirsh can be reached at info@LiveKinder.com  I love hearing your kindness stories.  Please sign-up for almost weekly kindness message at www.LiveKinder.com or follow LiveKinder on Facebook!