SPIRIT INNERVENTION R THE MILK OF HUMAN KINDNESS

The idea of turning 40 didn’t really bother me… well not too much. I had many people tell me, “It is just a number,” “You don’t look 40,” and my personal favorite and what really kept me going, “I hope I look like you when I turn 40.” Truth be told, it is merely a number and I didn’t really feel like I was turning 40.

I wanted to do something grand for my birthday, but wasn’t certain what I wanted to do. Then a friend told me about a blog she read concerning a woman turning 40 who was performing 40 random acts of kindness on her birthday. I immediately came home and read the blog. I laughed and cried all at the same time, and at that moment, I knew this is how I wanted to ring in my big 4-0!

I quickly began assembling my “Giving Crew,” since I knew this was not something I could do alone. My crew was made up of a few of my dearest friends and I began planning the details of our “40 on 40” giving day. The ideas flowed, and while many were not original ideas, I just kept getting more and more excited! I created a spreadsheet to keep my thoughts organized, and the planning and purchasing took about a month. I had a limited budget, so planning was vital.

The weekend before our “Giving Day,” a few of the girls came over to my house for an assembly party. You cannot imagine how awesome my girlfriends are! We sewed, wrapped, laughed, sorted, bagged, and laughed some more well into the early morning hours. The joy that filled my heart and the excitement that accompanied that joy was unexplainable.

Early in the week, I received an email that stated Random Acts of Kindness Week was February 17th and our “Giving Day” was going to fall right in that window. I thought it was cool how God had orchestrated the timing. Sleep for the next week was hard. I had dreams about what our day would hold and excitement superseded sleep — which is very rare for me!

One of my first acts of kindness was going to be gift cards for our waste management guys. I planned to put the gift cards on our trashcans before putting them out Friday morning. I would do this right before I left for work — they never collect before noon anyways. But at 6:30a.m., I was in the shower, and what do I hear coming down the road? You guessed it, the waste management truck! Although I thought of chasing them down with my hair in a towel and in my bathrobe, common sense drew me back in. Maybe those gift cards were meant to bless someone else. I will catch my waste management crew another time — that is the joy of giving — it can happen anytime.

Friday night I planned to go over my list again to make sure everything was in order and rest because I knew Saturday would be a full day. At 9:30 p.m., my phone rang. It was the husband of one of the girls on my giving crew. He was calling to tell me she had gotten very sick and was not sure she was going to make it. This made me very sad because I knew she was looking forward to this day just as much as I was. I told him I would pray for her and hopefully she would feel better the next morning and could join us at some point. I prayed and prayed all night for her healing. Around 10 p.m., I received a text from another one of my giving crew. Her babysitter had fallen through, so she was not going to be able to go. I just sat there looking at my phone thinking, “What is happening? Everything is falling apart! This was supposed to be a day of joy and fun!” After a call to my wonderful husband, who reminded me of how excited I was to do this and the joy it had brought me, I collected myself. Then, as God so often does, He reminded me that I could plan this day, but if true joy were to be found, I had to let Him orchestrate the day. I prayed for my friends and for the day that lay ahead and drifted off to sleep.

Saturday finally arrived. I was up by 6a.m. putting cakes and cookies in the oven and making sure the final touches were complete. I received word my friend who was ill would try to meet us at lunch and finish the day with us. My husband volunteered to keep my other girlfriend’s son so she could join us. God is good!

By 9a.m. we were on the road with the car loaded down, smiles on our faces, great joy in our hearts, and my spreadsheet! We knew this was going to be a great day. Our first stop was at a local fire station where we delivered breakfast to some very deserving firefighters. Then we went to the coin laundry to fill some washing machines with quarters and leave laundry soap. North Lake Park, the Umatilla Drug Store, and the Humane Society were all stops in our day. One of my favorite giving times was one I know God designed for us. While dropping off canned food at the Agnes May Crisis Center in Umatilla, we asked if we could be of service in any way. We were quickly asked if we would be interested in delivering lunch to a few homebound people in the community. Of course, we jumped at the opportunity. This was not one of the planned giving events. At this stop, we met someone I know we will not soon forget: Floyd. What a character! He definitely put a smile on our faces.

Our giving continued; we delivered lunch to the emergency room staff and a huge snack basket to the maternity ward staff at Waterman. (This was kind of my way of giving back to them since my parents, my sister, my son, and I were all born at Waterman.) While at Waterman, we also delivered coloring books and crayons to the pediatric unit and care packs to the cancer unit.

We paid for a couple’s lunch, handed out gift cards to local restaurants, left coins in vending machines, and gave board games to children at the park.

My favorite encounter of the day just happened to be our last. I purchased a $50 gift card to Publix. Then my team and I walked the store looking for “just the right person” to give it to. Then we saw them — a young couple with a very new baby. They had to be first time parents… you could just tell. I walked up to them, told them about what we were doing, and gave them the gift card. They stood there dumbfounded and reluctantly accepted. They must have thought we were crazy by the look on their faces. As we walked away, I looked back and tears filled my eyes because they had no idea the joy I just received by giving them this gift. And with that, 40 acts of kindness had been achieved!

The day was full and crazy, but not once did any of us grow weary. Several of my friends have named this day of giving as “The Birthday Project.” After following my posts on Facebook, many of my friends are planning or have already done this very thing. How awesome is that? Kindness does inspire kindness. I was blessed beyond words during this entire project from start to finish. It would not have been possible without the love and support of my dear family and sweet friends. I encourage all of you to spread a little kindness. We are already planning our next giving outing — “10 for 10” on my son’s birthday!