Something Positive to Think About

The Bible tells us in Philippians 4:8 - "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."  So here are some good things to think about!

 Everyone knows that Santa’s red-nosed reindeer knows how to fly.  Unfortunately, "Rudolph," a beloved stuffed toy belonging to 4-year-old Nico Lavallée of Canada, did not.  When Nico's 2-year old brother tried tossed Rudolph over the railing during a walk, it landed on the frozen waters of Ottawa’s Rideau Canal.  They couldn't get to it to retrieve it.  But Nico and his family returned to visit Rudolph more than once.  Luckily, the stuffed toy landed in close proximity to a distance marker sign, so it wasn’t too hard to find . . . but that wouldn't last for long.  After several days and more snow, "Rudolph" began to slowly disappear under a blanket of white, leaving behind only a telltale bump of the toy.  

That’s when older brother Sebastian came up with an idea. During the pandemic, neighborhood social media had become a lifeline to their community isolated by the lockdown. Sebastian urged his mom to reach out to neighbors to see if anyone might be able to help retrieve Rudolph.  She was hesitant at first and didn't want to bother anyone.  she said later that she didn’t think anyone would care.  But that turned out to be wrong.  She posted the situation on Twitter, with a photo showing Rudolph’s last known location circled in red.  That simple posted ignited a mission to rescue Rudolph, with the National Capital Commission (NCC) signing up and pledging to put its skateway squad on the lookout.  Eventually, Rudolph was located —though frozen and a bit soggy - and after being thawed out and groomed, the prodigal stuffed toy was reunited with a joyful Nico and his grateful family.  

 In a world full of so much negativity, it's easy to lose sight of the positive things that happen.  Sometimes, one small act of kindness puts things into perspective and makes a difference!  Rico's mom said, “People do care. Assuming that they don’t is something that adults do… [My kids] are growing up knowing that other people have our backs and other people care, and that’s really heartwarming.”  “This stuffed baby deer isn’t the only thing melting,” another post said,  “so is my cold, cold heart.”

McKinley "Mac" Erves from Georgia s colorblind.  He never knew exactly what he was missing, but he knew he was missing out.  He had heard about some new "colorblind" glasses, and mentioned it casually, but not that often.  So he was shocked when his friends gifted him with a pair of the special colorblind glasses for his 22nd birthday.  His friends have shown Mac a whole new world, but more importantly, they showed him how much he was loved.   Mac says the glasses have changed his life.  And his reaction to the glasses is something to watch!  The video has gone viral.  Watch it here.  

We hope this inspires you to do something for the friends in your life to show them how much they are loved. 

In one community, for the past 15 years, a family of 13 went Christmas caroling in their neighborhood.  It was a tradition - they say they weren't good at it, but they loved doing it. This year, for obvious reasons- Covid - they didn’t go.  They wanted everyone to be safe.  So, a member of the family went door to door (masked and gloved) to leave a note so no one would stay up waiting for them to go caroling.  They had shown up pretty late some years and some neighbors with kids stayed up specifically to wait for them.  The note said not to wait up form them, but know that their family was thinking of everyone this year.

It was really a downer for the family.  They considered it the highlight of the season.  It just didn't feel like Christmas without the caroling.  But - their neighbors felt the same way.   So as a surprise to the family, the neighborhood turned the tables. This year, the neighbors came to them.  Spread out across their yard, the neighbor came and sang Christmas carols to that special family who had shared the Christmas spirit for 15 years.  Yes, it was  last-minute, but they grabbed umbrellas, printed out the lyrics to “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” and gathered whoever they could find.  The neighborhood sang to one family, but it lifted the spirits of everyone.  

The family wrote that it was amazing and emotional.  The daughter was crying, the dad was tearing up, and the mother is still crying thinking about it.   It brought the Christmas spirit they all needed.

Never forget that when you are a blessing to someone else, the blessing always comes back to you. . . and then is an inspiration to others.  Blessings are fullcircle!

After being barred from her husband’s nursing home for 114 days due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 57-year-old Floridian Mary Daniel was looking for ways to get around the visitor ban. After having no luck, she got a call that a dish-washing job opened at his facility. She eagerly applied so she could be reunited with her husband, Steve, of 24 years.  Thankfully, her plan worked and she got the job!

Mary gets to see her husband every single night and help him get ready for bed,   She had been concerned that her husband, Steve, who has  early-onset Alzheimer’s, wouldn’t remember her.  But she was surprised that he cried and called her by name as soon as he saw her on her first day.

In appreciation of her new job—where she gets to work 90-minute shifts on Thursday and Fridays and see Steve as a result—and not wanting to put members of Steve’s memory care facility at risk, Mary says that she refrains from going anywhere unnecessary and always practices social distancing when she is out.

As the Campbell family was coming to terms with the loss of 11 week-old Jake, 800 miles away in Iowa, then 2 week-old Beckham Scadlock was facing the difficult odds of receiving a heart transplant. That is, until the Campbell’s made a courageous decision and Beckham received Jake’s heart. That was in 2007.
A few years later, the two families met and discovered that along with the gift of one heart that united them, so too did one song. Unknowingly, both Holly and Kim sang “For Good” – to their infant sons: Holly as she said goodbye to Jake; and Kim after Beckham received his new heart.

In April, before a standing-room-only crowd, the Campbells and Scadlocks reunited at Golisano Children’s Hospital as they shared their stories. Holly explained how it came to be that they asked about organ donation. “We knew Jake’s life was ending,” she said. “But this doesn’t have to be the end.” 

Watch this unforgettable video that captures the special reunion and musical performance of Holly and Kim singing “For Good” in honor of their sons.

Click this LINK to watch the video. 

A Publix supermarket employee in Jacksonville, Florida, took to Facebook after witnessing a kind gesture by a grieving grandmother.

Nick DeClemente said the woman came up to the bakery counter and asked if they had any first birthday cakes on order for Saturday or Sunday. She said she wanted to pay for one. Nick asked what the customer's name was, thinking she was paying for a specific person, but she said, "No, I want to pay for one anonymously."

The woman started to tear up and told Nick that her grandson was stillborn a year ago. In tribute to him, she wanted to pay for someone else's cake.

Nick went to the cake order drawer and found an order. The woman thanked Nick for letting her pay for the cake and appreciated his assistance.

Nick said on Facebook that it was probably one of the most touching things he had seen in all his years working in retail. He said that he hoped the woman found peace through her tribute and that the customer who received the gift would, if nothing else, pay it forward.

Originally, Nick thought the woman had been talking about her own child who had been stillborn, but he later learned that the woman, whose name is Vanessa Phillips, was honoring her grandson. She commented on Nick's Facebook post that she appreciated him sharing her story and honoring her grandson.