Today is the start of Random Act of Kindness week in the US! I’m so excited!! Promoted by the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, based out of Denver, Colorado, this is a week-long celebration of kindness ending on National Random Acts of Kindness Day (February 17). The week spans over Valentine’s Day which is a perfect holiday to show the world a little extra love and joy.
I absolutely LOVE this week, because the RAK Foundation does such great work in showcasing all the different ways people around the world are being kind. (For this year’s RAKs, check out the #RAKweek2018 hashtag on Twitter!) As a RAKtivist, it’s my joy to share my experiences with the world!
Yesterday, as I was making my final plans for all the little ways I would show kindness this week, a package arrived at my door. I looked at the return address and saw it was sent by a dear childhood friend. I vaguely remembered her asking for my address a while back, but I hadn’t given it another thought at the time.
I carefully opened the package and pulled out a handwritten note with a tiny silver box, taped shut. It’s not very often that I receive gifts like this, so I was equally perplexed and intrigued.
My heart started beating faster as I opened the handwritten note, tears filling my eyes even before I got to the bottom of the page.
My sweet friend,
I’m so proud of you! Your constant love for others shines and inspires me. It’s time for me to pay-it-forward with a RALLY – a Random Act of Lasting Love for You! My newest project if you will, has been taking older antique/vintage watches and turning them into something new. So far, I have only done things for family. Who am I kidding – we’re Secret Sisters, we’re family, too! You’re the first that’s not “blood.”
As you embark on this new journey, I wanted you to have something special. Though time marches on (the watch case) – look to the stars in the heavens (the white stones inside the case) – and your sweet mother is smiling down on you (the garnet to represent her birthstone.) It’s delicate – not an everyday piece. Clean with a silver polishing cloth. It’s 14kt gold filled – most of the vintage cases were then – so don’t get it wet if you can help it. 🙂
Enjoy!
With love,
Jennifer McMillen
Friends, there are times in our lives when the kindness of others is so overwhelmingly beautiful, so pure and real, that you honestly feel like you are being wrapped in the loving arms of God himself.
I share this story with you today to inspire you to listen to the whisper on your heart.
Go.
Do.
Don’t wait for the perfect time, the perfect place, or the perfect way. Just follow that prompting and make it happen. You just never know how important your act of kindness will be for someone else!
What my sweet friend, Jennifer, couldn’t possibly know (nor anyone else for that matter) is signing my first book contract with Dave Burgess Consulting, Inc. this past week was more than a dream come true. It was my mom’s dream as well.
The entire time she was battling cancer, she would check in periodically and ask, “How’s that book coming along? Have you written any more lately? What chapter are you on?” Each time, I answered with another excuse, a side-step to avoid the mother-daughter lecture of being brave and having confidence in my writing. It wasn’t until she was lying in a hospital bed days before her death that I promised to write the book that was planted in my soul.
A book about kindness.
A book for me.
A book for you.
A book for her.
And now, I have this little reminder from my kind and thoughtful friend to celebrate a promise fulfilled.
