Act of Random Kindness

Today Carley, Linzie and I had an experience that lifted our hearts. We were presented with an opportunity to help someone in need and we did so without hesitation. It may have been a small thing, but I am glad that we were in the right place, at the right time, and we did the RIGHT thing!


We had gone to the grocery store to get items we needed to make a fruit salad for two separate bbqs going on today. We happily loaded our cart with produce of various sizes and shapes (they had to stop me.. I would have kept going!), paid for our purchases and headed out to the parking lot. Immediately I saw a large boy standing in the handicap parking space, looking lost and anxious and something in my heart made me feel compelled to pay attention.  As we walked closer with our cart of fruit, I made eye contact with him and he hesitated for only a moment before asking shakily if I had a phone he could borrow.

"Of course." I replied, taking my Blackberry from my pocket and handing it to the boy who was obviously in distress.

As soon as I handed over the phone, I felt compelled to ask him if he was ok.

Tears threatened in the corner of his eyes as he responded, "I can't get a hold of my mom and I'm stranded."

I have never picked up a hitchhiker, always went out of my way to avoid strangers when my girls are with me, and never... NEVER have I offered to give a ride to a stranger twice my size. But something told me that I was supposed to help this stranger today.  I asked the tearful boy if he needed a ride somewhere.

Relief surged over his entire being as he breathlessly, and eagerly said that yes, he did need a ride. I felt no fear or worry.. I was completely calm as I talked to him and led him to our Durango. I asked him his name and he immediately held out his hand and said, "Oh! I'm Jake!"  I introduced myself and told him how happy we were to help get him home on this hot summer afternoon. Jake offered gas money, telling me that he would get paid next week and if I would just give him my phone number, he would call me and pay me for my trouble. I told him that he was sweet but that would not be necessary. He then helped load our groceries into the car, saying that was the very least he could do in return.

The girls had remained silent throughout the entire exchange and I was worried that they were upset at me for taking such a risk. I hoped that they would be understading later when I planned to explain to them how I felt such a strong prompting to help Jake get home.

Once we were in the car,  and had the air conditioner blasting a chilly buffer between us and the  scorching heat outside, Jake opened up and became very talketive. He told us where he went to school, where he had worked in the past, and what he did now for a living. I was very surprised to learn that he was 20 years old! To me, he looked no older than 17, and I told him so. Jake explained to us that he was taking the bus but had lost his transfer and thus became stranded at the Smith's grocery store. He kept repeating how grateful he was that we would take him home and he could not believe that we were so willing to help.

He lives less than 4 miles from our home, so it wasn't much out of our way to take Jake home today. However, Jake expressed his gratitude in such a way that you would think we had just given him a winning lottery ticket. He exited the Durango with a friendly goodbye, saying, "Ok then, we'll see you later." Which struck me funny because I knew we would probably never see this boy again.

Or maybe we will.

As we drove home, Carley, Linz and I talked about how great it felt to help someone in need. Jake was a nice boy who didn't think anyone would help him and he was so polite and vocal about his gratitude. We had talked to Jake about Karma and how we believed that doing good things for others has a positive impact on our own lives. He agreed wholeheartedly.   I think we earned some good Karma points today.

As I've said before, I am not a religious person... but I do believe in a higher power (Just not organized religion) and I definitely think we were guided today.  I like to think that the prompting I felt in my heart was assurance from my Grandma and Grandpa, who are always watching over us, letting me know that I was in that parking lot, at that exact time, for a reason and that helping Jake was the right thing to do.

Carley later told me that today she was reminded to be grateful for the blessings in her life. She has a car, a cell phone, and would never worry about being stranded somewhere without help nearby.  I was proud of her as she told me about the things she is grateful for and how she was happy that we helped Jake today.

Listening to your heart and doing the right thing feels great!