I was flying Southwest from Dallas to New York. Three rows ahead of me, there was a young soldier in uniform. He looked barely 18. He was staring straight ahead, gripping the armrests. He looked nervous. When the drink cart came around, the flight attendant asked him what he wanted. 'Coke, please,' he said. 'Heading home?' she asked kindly. 'No, ma'am,' he said. 'Deploying. First time.' The whole row went quiet. The flight attendant didn't say a word. she handed him his Coke. Then, she got on the PA system. 'Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special guest in Row 8 today. Private Miller is on his first deployment to serve our country. Since I can't buy him a drink, I’m going to ask a favor. If you want to write him a note of encouragement, pass it forward.' I grabbed a napkin. I wrote: 'You got this. Stay safe. - A dad from Row 12.' I watched as napkins traveled up the aisle. Napkins, receipts, pages torn from books. By the time we landed, the soldier had a pile of paper on his tray table three inches high. He stood up to get his bag, and he was wiping his eyes. He carefully packed every single scrap of paper into his rucksack. 'Thank you,' he told the flight attendant. 'No,' she said. 'Thank you.' We all walked off that plane a little quieter, reminded that freedom is just a word until you meet the kid who is defending it.
Credit: Margie Lee
Anonymous
I run a small pizza shop. Deliveries mostly. Late nights. Got a call at 10 PM. Woman’s voice shaking. “Can you deliver to Sunset Motel?” “Yes ma’am. What would you like?” Long pause. “What can I get for six dollars? I have three kids.” Six dollars wouldn’t cover one pizza. “We have a special tonight. Family meal. Three pizzas, breadsticks, drinks. Six dollars.” No such special. She started crying. “Really?” Made the pizzas myself. Added wings. Cookies. Juice boxes. Drove it over.
She opened the door. Bruises on her neck. Three little kids behind her. Terrified. Quiet. “Thank you. You don’t understand.” I did understand. Started happening weekly. She’d call. I’d have a special ready. Month three she didn’t call anymore. Worried me. Two months later she walked in. Different person. Confident. Had a job. Apartment. Kids looked healthy. Happy. Handed me three hundred dollars. “For all the specials that weren’t real. I knew.” Tried to refuse. “Please. Let me pay forward.” That money started a fund. When someone calls from a shelter or motel desperate, we use it. Six years now. Over a thousand meals delivered. She’s a paralegal. Refers families to us constantly. Works with domestic violence survivors. Her oldest is in high school. Works at my shop weekends. “Because you fed us when we were running. Now I want to feed others.” Last Saturday she delivered to a family at that same motel. Came back crying. “That was us five years ago. Now I get to be you.”
Left side is a human lung. Right side is a tree.
The tree breathes in what the lung breathes out. The lung breathes in what the tree breathes out.
God's design is incredible.
Jesus said, "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7
I know some will scroll past Penny because is battling hydrocephalus but every share and donation can help towards his daily treatment and therapy needed.
Just remember that this human experience is temporary. You arrive with nothing, you spend your whole life chasing everything, but still leave with nothing. So make sure that your soul gains more than your hands.
My upstairs neighbor got a kitten and told me if I hear thumps it's the kitten leaping after her ribbon toy and now when I hear little thumps above me in my living room it makes me smile 😊
Punch is really so cute... He was abandoned by his mother, so he was raised by humans.
But when he was brought to the zoo, he couldn't integrate into the monkey troop's society
and could only cling to the plush toy/doll that the zookeeper gave him.