Monday, January 17, 2011

A Family Affair- RAK

Last February I entered my sister in a Random Acts Of Kindness contest on Linda's blog!
My sister had just lost her husband and I thought this would lift her spirits.
Linda gave her the most beautiful wall hanging and it was such a blessing.
Anyway so I thought that I would pass this blessing
 on by doing a Random act of kindness for 3 people.

My 3 daughters picked the winners from all the comments.
My daughter Mandy picked..........



Glenda said: I would like to nominate my daughter. Two and half years ago she gave birth to a beautiful little girl. As the months unfolded, we discovered the baby was severely disabled. My daughter has been a beautiful example to all around her as she's handled her grief and cared for this precious little child. Each day is filled with siezures, tube feedings, and doctor visits, yet Mendy handles it all with grace, through her strong faith in the Lord.


Click Here to visit her daughters web site.


My daughter Maranda picked.........


Lori said: I would like to nominate my sister. My sister, Pam, had breast cancer in 2000 and has been in remission since until last week. Her cancer is back. We aren't sure to what extent yet. She has a CAT and bone scan next Friday and gets the results on the 15th.


On of the sad part of all of this, is Pam never married so outside of calling my other sister or myself, she goes home to an empty house to deal with all of this alone. I couldn't have imagined getting my cancer diagnosis and not having my husband to go home to.


My daughter Shannon picked..........


AmyW said: I'd like to nominate Krista. She found out right before Christmas that she has breast cancer. She is currently recovering from a double mastectomy and starts chemo this Tuesday. She is the mother of three kids (the same ages as mine), the wife of our youth minister, and a special education teacher (we teach at the same school).


A couple of years ago, she watched a very close friend of hers die of brain cancer. Krista was such a prayer warrior for the young mother. Unfortunately, she passed away and left behind a two year old daughter. Then about a year later, her own mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. Krista brought her mother home to live with her. Within a year or so, her mom was gone. Throughout her diagnosis, she has been in good spirits and is constantly blessing others. She is fighting cancer with every ounce of her being while holding on tight to God's daily provisions. She and her family are so precious to us. We've served alongside of them on mission trips and we've watched our kids grow up together. I want her to live to see her great-grandchildren! She and I have made a secret goal that she will be well enough to return to New Orleans on this summer's youth mission trip. (It's a secret because her husband would freak out if he knew she was planning to return to New Orleans so soon after her last chemo treatment) Her blog address is www.kristas-journey.blogspot.com
I love this gal to pieces!

As you can see my Grands helped me get all this together and ready to mail.
It took me almost a year to do this and I want to tell you why it took me so long.
All along I had in my head that I would buy 3 quilts from Granny and send them to these 3 special people.
Then Granny passed away on April 13th. 
It took me a while to even think of this but I was at a loss what to do.
So I put it on the back burner for a while.  Almost a year.

So I started working on something else to give them all
but I felt in my heart that I was suppose to give them a quilt.
As I worked on other gifts for their package it just didn't feel right.
Then Daddy called and asked me to come and see his quilts that he had made.
Up until now, Daddy had not quilted since his Mother passed away.
I told him that I wanted to buy 3 of them and he was so thrilled.
I knew then that it was a quilt that I was suppose to send for this
random acts of kindness.

What would I do without my Grands?
They picked out the quilts according to each story,
 addressed the packages and helped me package them.
As always, I try to teach my Grands good things.
So I read the comments to them and they were so touched.
I told them that it doesn't have to cost anything to give someone a gift.
A gift of a smile or a hello doesn't costs a dime.
I love teaching moments.

So this was a family affair and such a blessing for us all.
My daughters picked the winners after thinking and reading all of the comments.
They took this very serious and so did I. They shed tears over all of the stories.
Then my Grands worked hard getting it all ready with me.

I was so happy to see the pictures that Glenda posted on her blog and sent me showing her daughter and her Grands receiving their quilt.
It meant the world to me.  Click on her name and you can see her precious family receiving their Random Act Of Kindness. Thank you Glenda for posting this for me and my family to see. 
*******************
And if you want to be blessed visit here.
I have learned several things by doing this Random Act of Kindness.
1. My plans are not God's plans.
2. I wanted to do this to bless someone else and my family was blessed more.
3. When Granny passed away and I was at a loss what to do for these 3 women, I learned to WAIT because God had another plan.
4. Everyone has a story.
5. Pass it on.
6. It really is better to give than receive.

I am thankful for............my family.

22 comments:

webbsway said...

O Val,
What a lovely story. You lessons are the same as mine and I learned that "You just cannot out-give GOD! No matter how hard you try ! I learned when I try my random act of kindness that I always get Way more back in return ! It is a very Humbling experience for me.

Tina said...

I love your story. What a great thing you have done for these ladies! Every time they snuggle up in these quilts they will know that someone loves and cares for them!

Alice Grace said...

Such a beautiful thing to do! There are so many in this world who needs these RAK's! What a great idea! I pray that those whom you sent gifts to were touched by God as they recieved your loving gifts, and to have the Grands involved was a great moment for them.

Libby said...

Love It!! God is Good!!

Darla said...

and what a wonderful example for your Grandchildren.

Needled Mom said...

This is such a touching post, Val. Indeed, loving RAKs!!!

Sonny Jones said...

Hey Mom, I saw this and it's so peculiar how our families are so much the same, and it just so happens that You and Randy are another Dad and Mom to me. You know how large our church is, and it was said at my grandmother Hampton's funeral that "there probably wasn't a family in our church without a quilt that she made". There's just something about giving from the heart. Thank you for being the example we all need. Much love and I miss you guys so much.

Trisha said...

God Bless You, what a beautiful thing to do, and what a beautiful way to raise your daughters.

Allie said...

Oh Val, what an absolutely precious thing to do. You inspire me.

Diane said...

You are such a good person. You are one of the best I know and your family is so lucky to have you!!!!!!

Susannah said...

What a heart felt thing to do!...and to involve your family was wonderful. I love how you all think of others.

Susannah

Sugar Mountain Mercantile said...

Hello, Val,

What a wonderfully inspiring story..and such a good lesson for your grandchildren! You have a lovely family.

Thank you so much for stopping by my new blog. I have much to learn from all of you gals :)
Hugs,
Debbie

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi Val, Glad you came back to my blog. I enjoy hearing about Random Acts of Kindness. Our church --when I lived in Texas--used to do that once every few months. Some groups would put together 'goody bags' --and others would deliver them to shut-ins, to the business world/offices/shops, etc... People really appreciated it.

There is alot of pain out there in this world, and anything any of us can do to help is greatly appreciated I'm sure.
Hugs,
Betsy

George said...

What a wonderful story. I especially like the way you involved your children and grandchildren. Thanks for sharing this story with us.
Thanks, too, for visiting my site.

StitchinByTheLake said...

Val you and your family have been a true vessel for God - He directed and you obeyed. There's no greater blessing than that. blessings, marlene

Williams Arena said...

Hi Valerie,
Krista just posted a sweet note on her blog. She loves the quilt. I thought you might enjoy her post.

http://kristas-journey.blogspot.com/2011/01/quilt.html

Anonymous said...

Hello Val, I was touched when I read your post....a special gift for these three ladies...Warm Regards, Lyn

Anonymous said...

A very sweet and touching post Val.

Krista Miller said...

Amy is absolutely correct!! I LOVE MY QUILT.... I'm usually not one chosen for anything (except to do the dishes! LOL). I am both humbled and honored at the same time that you would pick "little old me" from the list of deserving nominations.
I cannot tell you how this has touched me!! Literally, there are only ramblings of words... nothing really makes sense!!
Thank you, sweet family, for loving on others they way you do. You will forever be precious to me!!!!

Linda said...

What a wonderful story and you are so lucky to have wonderful grand daughters to help you out. I lake blankets for Project Linus and for every one I finish and donate it makes me feel that much better. Thank you for your wonderful generosity!

Mandy said...

Happy Birthday Mom!!! I hope you had a great day and hope to see you soon :) We love you very much! As Davis says, Happy Birthdoo Gi Gi!!!

Thearica said...

Valerie, Doesn't it lift you up in ways nothing else can when you put a smile on someone else's face...

I have not been over to your bloog in a while and when I saw you mention granny my eyes filled up with tears. She was a grand lady and is missed by so many! And it is so sweet that your dad makes quilts too! :)