Sometimes, all it takes is a phone call.
That’s all it took for me to actually change someone’s life.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Random Acts of Kindness is in bookstores today. My story, Taking Action, is about the day I helped someone get a job by simply making a phone call. It cost me nothing…but changed a life. Sometimes, that’s all it takes….a little action. So get inspired, be hopeful, help that friend (or stranger!) in need. Imagine, just imagine, if we all did one random act of kindness each day. Oh, what a different world it would be!
My husband and I helped an old man stranded at a Walmart supermarket this past weekend. He had a cart full of bags and was trying to get back home to his sick wife. He’d been waiting for a taxi 3 hours and was feeling faint and trying to get into the Walmart wheelchair. That’s when we spotted him. He told us he’d had a stroke 6 months ago and wasn’t able to drive, and that he was feeling like he might have another one. He said he only lived 3.5 miles away. We sat him in the wheelchair, put his bags in our car, drove him home, unloaded the bags and brought them inside his house. He was so grateful, but we were even happier to have had the opportunity to help someone in need.
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Cozynookbks, You were an angel in disguise! Thanks for sharing this….it gives me hope.🌿
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There’s always more happiness in giving.
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Yes! So true.
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Hello Mary,
I got the chance to read this story of Oleg the other day and it was very well written, it touched my heart and soothed my soul in a very positive way. There is tremendous happiness in making others happy despite our own situations and there is not exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.
Wishing you the best in your writing,
Hamza
Saudi Arabia
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Dear Hamza, Thank you for your kind comments — and from so far away. I’m glad the story touched you and hope the story has the same effect on others. Best wishes, Mary
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Dear Mary,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I received the story from their daily newsletter to which I subscribed more than 10 years ago – almost in June of 2006. Surely, it has the same positive impact on others who happened to read it. You are a talented writer beyond the words can ever describe and your writing style is beautiful enough to fascinate the readers.
Have a relaxing weekend,
Hamza
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Thank you again for your kind words. I edited out your email address above for privacy reasons. In terms of stories, I’m working/editing three inspirational short stories — and will be posting them soon. They’re lovely (I think) and I hope you’ll like them. Thank you so much again for your encouraging comments. 🌿
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Ok, thanks for notifying me. I’ll be waiting for the story, I really can’t wait to read them.
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Congratulations, so glad your inspiring article was published!
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The Sunken Ship
The teacher was telling his students the story of a large ship, sinking in the middle of the sea. Aboard the ship, there was a couple as well as a lifeboat for only one person. All of a sudden, the man pushed his wife aside, jumped into the boat, and began to sail away from the sunken ship, leaving his wife to face her impending death alone. As the ship began to sink, the woman shouted at her husband….. At this moment, the teacher stopped telling the story and asked the students, “What in your opinion did she say to him?”
While most of the students replied that the woman hated her husband and insulted him for leaving her die alone, the teacher noticed that one of the students was sinking in his own thoughts. He approached the boy and asked him his opinion. The boy straightened himself and said to the class, “I think the woman said to her husband, ‘Please take care of our child.’, right?” The teacher was shocked by the boy’s response and asked him, “Did you read this story before?” “No, sir,” said the boy. “I didn’t read it before, but this is what my mother said to my father just before she died of the chronic disease she was diagnosed with.”
“You are right,” said the teacher and then continued the unfinished story. The ship sank in the sea and the man returned back to his home where he took care of their daughter. Years later, the man, himself, passed away and his daughter found a notebook written by his own hand. In his notes, the man mentioned that he and his wife were in a voyage across the sea after doctors diagnosed her with a chronic disease. Just moments before the ship sank, the man jumped into the only chance of surviving and wrote, “Sweetheart, I wish I could give you the chance to survive and to take care of our daughter, but your disease didn’t leave any other choice. My heart is filled with pain and deep sadness for this hard decision. Rest in peace, sweetie, our daughter will have a beautiful life.”
– Strength doesn’t always mean holding tightly onto something precious God has given to us, it sometimes means letting go when we are destined by fate.
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Beautiful story! Thank you so very much for sharing this.
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