"Penny of Time" Adventure GUEST Post: Drippin' With Kindness



I am excited to share with you a GUEST post written by a courageous mother of several boys who took on a mission to influence her community to do kind acts, serve one another.  I've never met her in person, but I have been touched by her kindness and efforts to serve her community anonymously.

 

Here is her story.  Hope her story inspires you to take the "kind" actions you've been thinking about but have hesitated to do.  You'll want to check out the Facebook page for her community kindness movement at Drippin' With Kindness.

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True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever the cost.Arthur Ashe

“Giving is better than getting”. My 3 year old son actually said this to me last night when I asked him what he wanted for Christmas. I’m sure this quote has to come from a movie somewhere but the fact that he said this and genuinely MEANT it brought tears to my eyes. You see, it wasn’t that long ago that the thought of giving and serving others that I didn’t know was something that honestly never crossed my mind. Sure, I remembered my friends and families birthdays and was the first one to want to get a gift ready, but to serve or give to someone who didn’t know me or more importantly, would never be able to acknowledge that I did my “good deed”. What was the point?

Yes, sadly this was my attitude. If you work hard and stay focused, good things will follow. I actually get sick to my stomach when I think that was my train of thought a year and a half ago. For various reasons but really because of God’s doing, my family and I bought a home and relocated to Dripping Springs, Texas in September 2011. We knew NO ONE in the Drip (as the locals call it). But, we felt drawn to this area after visiting it for ONE day!

Before long, we were getting settled in and found a wonderful church. It was there that my husband and I finally had the light bulb turn on (BRIGHTLY) on how serving and giving to others is the real wealth in life. Following Jesus by living not to be served, but to serve and help others is what life is all about.

There were multiple times when people we barely knew have stepped in to help us in the very short time we have lived here. Whether it has been catching a mouse in our garage (dramatic, yes, I know), or repairing a fence, helping dry the carpet out of a flooded game room, or making a meal for us when one of us is sick. All of these acts of kindness have entered our lives without expectation but with GREAT appreciation.

That is how Drippin’ with Kindness came to life. The name, of course, pays homage to our special town of Dripping Springs. My mission for Drippin’ with Kindness is to spread random acts of kindness to our community, specifically to those who I will never meet or more importantly, won’t feel compelled to “pay”me back but to pay it forward with a pure heart. During this journey, I especially want my sons to see me genuinely walk the walk and talk the talk. I want the act of serving others to become their “normal”. I want this to spread throughout the entire Drip community and pass down to generations to come.

“Drippin’ with Kindness” has only been live for 2 months but my hope is that even though it’s not generating Facebook posts, it’s helping or making a difference in someone’s life. Whether we are leaving flowers on a random windshield, leaving “get well” notes on cars in the pediatrician’s office, bringing in the neighbors trash cans, paying for someone’s coffee, lunch or donating gifts or food or even more, just time-all of this takes minimal effort on me and my families time but has the potential to make a big impact to someone who really needs it.

I now give and serve without guilt and without the expectation of getting something in return. I do these acts anonymously. Only a small handful of people know what I’m doing while the majority has no clue who I am or who my children are. To serve others only takes time. It doesn’t always have to mean money spent. It really is easy. Just open your heart, open your mind and listen to that voice inside you (I say it’s God J). Not only will you make a difference in someone else’s life, but you have the potential to make a difference in your community while at the same time, bring your whole family closer and sharing the happiness of serving others.

"Like" Drippin' with Kindness on Facebook and please feel free to share your stories and ideas on how to serve others in the community.  Drippin' With Kindness

-A proud Dripping Springs resident :)