Good and I’m Working on the Pretty

Day 229 of Photo Inspirations — Good and I’m Working on the Pretty!
A sweet friend of mine, who is an oncology nurse, is all about bringing sunshine into the world.  Not only does she work at her nursing job, but she volunteers as an usher at her church, she is a volunteer at a charitable organization that is truly a “back-up resource” for families who have a loved one dealing with cancer, and if that’s not enough…..she goes to hospice facilities to cheer up the families and their loved ones.  I couldn’t resist sharing the following story with you.  It touched me so much.

Jodi was visiting hospice facility a few weeks ago.  A 93 year old man was sitting on the porch and she greeted him as she walked up.  She said, “How are you doing?” He said, “Good — and I’m working on the Pretty!”   She said he was a delight.  She sat down with him and carried on conversation.  Eventually he said he was hungry and would love a hamburger. She told him she’d go get him one.  (There wasn’t a question about whether it was good for him or not — she knew her attention to him WAS good for him.)  She came back with the hamburger and a strawberry shake and the dear man had a chair pulled up right next to him for Jodi to sit by him.  Jodi said he ate every bite and drank all the shake and spent over two hours with him.  Jodi was beaming as she told me this story.  The sweet man passed away a few days later.

What makes someone go the extra mile to bring a ray of sunshine into someone’s life?  Especially when that someone is close to leaving this world anyway.  What difference does it make?  Here’s the difference:  Jodi was serving a sweet man that was getting ready to leave this world.  I told her she was his midwife — giving him a sweet, comfortable and beautiful time as he was transitioning to “going home”.  But, more than the sacrifice of her time for this sweet man, this was about Jodi.  She was so grateful for these two hours.  Helping others makes us see what we have…..and makes us even more grateful for it.  Helping others makes us happy.  There is so much joy in giving.  She was grateful: when you help others it makes you see what you have and makes you more thankful for it  Jodi’s acts of kindness are seed planting times.  She is already enjoying the harvest of her acts as she experiences such overflowing joy and happiness.

What difference does it make?  Maybe the solution to complacency, boredom, loneliness and sadness is to find some-one or some-place where we can make a difference in someone’s life today.  It just might be the last act of kindness they will receive, but it will be an act of kindness that will change us FOREVER.