Your Kindness Will Never Be Forgotten

I just love acts of kindness. The thing about them is that you never know the impact they will have in the moment, and the lasting effects a random good deed can have on someone’s life. Today, while in church I was able to hear about the “behind the scenes” of an act of kindness that was shed upon me many years ago. I was young and I was often lonely as I attended young women’s. I was the only one my age and felt that I didn’t fit in with the other girls. Most of it was probably brought upon myself through my own insecurities, it was something I struggled with. There was one particular year that things were rough and church was not necessarily my safe haven. My loneliness was at an all time high and  I distinctly remember thinking that I was not wanted. It was towards Christmas that one of the younger girls had sent me a gift. It was a hand knitted scarf and hat it was blue and yellow. I was shocked that she had thought of me and was pleased to know that I was noticed in Young Women’s by another girl. I knew at the time that she was having health issues, but I truly never knew the extent that she was suffering. All I knew at that point was that she was kind, and I now had a friend. Today she taught the relief society lesson. She shared her own story of loneliness. Her health was not good and she was living in a hospital. She explained how she didn’t have much there and it was far from home with no departure date in sight. Christmas was coming up and she wanted nothing to do with it, she wanted to ignore it. She had expressed to her family that she didn’t want to see them for Christmas and that they should do their normal traditions here in Boise. Her family couldn’t let that happen, they surprised her and spent the holiday in the hospital room with her. It was the hardest Christmas for her but she described it as one of the most spiritual and humbling Christmas holidays. Her family read the bible together and shared stories. As I listened and felt her pain today I realized I had no idea how much she was really going through. Even in her deepest  and darkest times in her life she took the time to be kind, it takes a very special person to do that. I was so humbled  to hear her speak and share her story.  She has always been a great example to me, and will always have a special place in my heart. If you ask me, it was a the perfect reminder of what this season is really about! At the end of her testimony, a girl with Down Syndrome raised her hand to comment. She said “I need to hug you,” and she went to the front of the classroom she gave our teacher a big hug. It’s was the perfect end to a lesson and something that strengthened my belief of being kind.