Tuesday Tell All - The Effects of Kindness

Todays Tuesday Tell All says: Share a moment that you will never forget when someone has shown kindness to you, or that you have done something for someone else that has affected you.

There have been many times in my life when people have shown me kindness. I would hope that people would say the same thing about me that I have shown loads of kindness to them as well. But it is more difficult to write about times when you have shown kindness to others. Especially for me as most the time the random acts of kindness that I show I like to remain anonymous. But there are a few times in General I want to mention here.

As everyone who reads my blog will know Spencer was born very early. My family live in America and could not do anything to help during this time and Lee's Mom and Dad live over 2 hours away and could not get here to help. His sister was always a little too busy with things going on in her life and we were kind of stuck with no one to help out. My water broke when I was 22 weeks pregnant and straight away the Dr's said you need to do very little stay down as much as you can. Oh and we would advise that you dont drive anywhere until the baby is born. Straight away I started to Panic! Kaylee was 3 and Lee still had to work every day. I had Dr appointments every other day and I wasnt allowed to drive to them. Our ward too as everyone will know is a total Nightmare. With the exception of a few people. Alex Wheeler was my visiting teaching companion and she was so Amazing. Every other day she came and picked me up for my Dr Appointments took me and then she would make sure she was there when I was done. She took Kaylee while I was at the Dr too. She made dinner for us on a few occasions (something that had never happen before and has never happen since) plus she would come in and completely clean my house. She took our laundry with her and did the laundry at her house and would drop it back by later. All the time she has 4 children of her own, she ran her own household, and they run their own business. There were others who did random acts of kindness too. The week before Spencer was born I was admitted into the hospital. Im sure you can imagine who stressed I was when this happen. I didnt know who would look after Kaylee. Again Lee had to work. He made a few phone calls and within minutes friends of ours, The Atkins, Emma Scott, and Sarah Coyne all agreed to take her for a day or two while Lee went to work. I was so grateful for their kindness. And I knew that each of these AMAZING women would look after my princess and show her the same kind of love and affection I would have done. And in fact they did more than what I would have done. They were able to play with her something that I hadnt been able to do for weeks. She would come to the hospital each night and tell me about all the adventures she had gotten up to that day. The day Spencer was born the Relief Society President came over for the first time to check on me because I had been released from the hospital. I was in so much pain and knew that I was in labour but was praying that it would pass and Spencer would not be born yet. But she stayed with me for about 2 hours to help with Kaylee and finally she said you need to call Lee now and get him home. She then needed to go because she had 2 daughters who were at school and she needed to get them. Lee got home and we went straight to the hospital. We tried to get in touch with Lee's sister to come and get Kaylee but we werent able to. Im sure you could imagine the panic which Lee and I were feeling knowing that our child was going to be born 14 weeks early plus the panic at the Hospital from all the Dr's and Nurses. There were 4 nurses / Midwives looking after me and about 9 Dr's and Nurses standing around waiting for the baby to be born. I will be the first to admit I was a terrible mess emotionally. I was crying and so scared. We were trying to get a hold of anyone to take Kaylee. It was our ward temple night and Alex, the woman who had helped so much was at the temple. Finally Lee got a hold of her just as she was leaving the temple and she said she would go straight to the hospital. I told Lee that he would need to take Kaylee out of the delivery room because I didnt want her to see anymore than she already had. She was crying and scared herself because she could sense and feel of all the stress in the room. I dont think any 3 year old child should have to see the things that Kaylee saw that day. Thank goodness she doesnt remember them or I would be willing to bet she would never have children of her own. Alex took Kaylee home with her fed her dinner and kept her over night. The following morning she got her up dressed her and brought her to our house to be with Lee. She had been really upset through the night and Alex said she seemed very worried. A number of times during the next 2 1/2 months that Spencer was in hospital we would get phone calls saying you need to come here immediately. We called on Alex to watch Kaylee for us because there was no one else. And because by this time her family had become the only family we had here.

Alex Wheeler and her family moved back down to Devon before Spencer came home from the hospital and have since immigrated to Australia. While they were living in Devon we saw them a few times. And we have been in touch with them since they moved to Australia last month. She is an amazing woman. I am forever grateful for the friendship that we have and the things which her friendship has taught me.

There is a poem which I am sure most have heard before. It is quiet long but I want to share it anyway!

A good perspective for the day; PEOPLE COME INTO OUR LIVES FOR A REASON.

People come into our lives for a Reason, a Season or a Lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.

Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into our lives for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season!

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

I am glad and wish to thank you for being a part of my life, whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime. Only time will tell.