When you have an opportunity to participate in an activity that will cost money, but has no financial reward, do you do it?
One of my daughters came to me the other day and said, “For a group project at school, my group has decided to create hygiene kits for the homeless. Soooo… yeah… if you’ve got any hygiene products you’d like to contribute, that’d be cool!”
She was shy as she asked me and I knew she was incredibly uncomfortable doing so. I also know the heart of this girl and how tender she is about the plight of humanity. From the first moment I held her, I knew she was going to change the planet through her kindness. My heart warmed as I listened to her and I knew that I would postpone paying bills, if I had to, to support her project.
The next day, I went to the store to purchase some items for her. I got packets of toothbrushes and inexpensive toothpaste and lotion, the total collection being no more than $30 – a month of weekly mochas. No big deal.
At the register, all the lines were long, but I was in no hurry. I got in the self-help lane first, but it was going nowhere, although I was paying no attention.
Then, as if someone bent over and whispered directly in my ear, I heard, “Move. Go over to lane #2.”
I have learned not to question those sorts of directives, so I promptly moved to the end of the line over in lane #2. A few moments later, a lady pushed her cart in line behind me, just as I was unloading my charitable items on the conveyor belt.
“Looks like you’re creating something fun,” she said.
“My daughter is doing a group project at school; they are creating hygiene packs for the homeless.”
She smiled brightly and her eyes filled with tears, as she said, “That is a wonderful idea. How amazing your daughter is!”
I nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly, while the checker rang up my items. For a moment, I was thankful to the voice because I had 36 items that I would have had to have processed separately myself in the self-help lane. However, because I had 3 groups of 12, the checker was able to scan only one of each of the groups and multiply it by 12. A process that would have taken me at least five minutes took her only 30 seconds. I was musing about that when the lady behind me started talking to me again, but because I was off in my head, thinking about time equations and such, I didn’t hear her.
Smiling, I said, “I’m sorry. What did you just say?”
“I would like to contribute to her project,” she said, smiling brightly and rifling through her wallet. “I would like to give you cash toward her project. Would that be okay?”
I couldn’t stop the tears. They surprised me, springing forth and spilling over my lashes, as I nodded and swallowed hard. “Yes, of course. Thank you. So much!”
“I don’t have a lot of cash on me,” she said, pulling out all her cash. “It’s only $16.”
“But, it IS all you have,” I said, sniffling and wiping my face. “Which makes it more than enough! Thank you. That is so generous. Sorry for crying. You’ve touched my heart and I cannot seem to stop the tears.”
“No need to apologize,” she said, tears spilling down her cheeks, too. “I am grateful I chose this line so I could have this experience with you. Thank your daughter for me. She is doing wonderful things.”
“I’m Angie, by the way,” I said, reaching out to shake her hand.
“I am Kim.”
We shook hands, joined together in a moment where all of humanity was suddenly good.
I cried for most of the night that night. I was so touched by my daughter’s tender and generous heart and how her desire to make this world a better place changed me. And then, how my willingness to be changed allowed me to be in a space where Kim got to be changed, too.
It really does take only one person to affect a change and create a ripple of positivity that will impact more people than that one person can ever guess it will.
What sort of impact-ripples are you creating today?
