Middle Aged Mama

Blogging about my Midlife Adventures

The Year of the Blessing Project

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Many years ago, I came up with a plan for my own version of not-so-random acts of kindness.

And so 1997 shall forever remain in my memory, as “The Year of the Blessing Project”.

Chicken curry with pasta

I had a vague notion of wanting to do a good deed regularly – a bit like a girl guide!

However the reality was that both my time and money were extremely limited. I was a Stay At Home Mum with a toddler and a newborn baby, and we were living on one income, trying to stay on top of the mortgage, bills, and all the other expenses that come with a young family.

Copy of faves

It wasn’t until I had a brief chat on the phone with a friend who was feeling down, that inspiration struck. I longed to cheer her and show her how much I loved and appreciated her friendship. The thought came to me: What woman isn’t cheered by a new dress! I wasn’t sure I could afford it – I only had $19 to spare, but decided to keep an eye open, just in case …

Next time I was at the shops, a sale sign in a boutique caught my eye. Yes you guessed it, everything on the rack was $19! I remembered my friend, and sure enough, there was THE DRESS. It was exactly the right size; a beautiful colour; a style that I’d seen my friend wear before; and, of course it was exactly the amount of money I had set aside for just such a purpose!

I sent the dress through the mail, as my friend and I live some distance apart. She was quite taken aback and touched – it wasn’t even her birthday!

But do you know what? I think that I enjoyed the whole experience more than she did! My heart thrilled whenever I thought of her surprise on opening that parcel and trying on her new dress. I loved it so much, I made a conscious decision to practice not-so-random-acts of kindness, more often.

As the hubster was paid fortnightly, I came up with the following mission for the next 12 months: “To bless/encourage one person per fortnight”.

And so began the Year of the Blessing Project, and what an adventure it was. Every fortnight, I had to choose a person or family as my target 😉 , then turn my thoughts on how best to bless them. It really got my creative juices flowing!

Not all my projects were as extravagant as a new dress. I sent a couple of funny cards; and another time I made a jar of fudge to show appreciation to a friend.

Sometimes the projects were obvious – like making casseroles for friends with new babies.

Woman Holding Bouquet of Summer Flowers with grass and flowers in the background.

I sent a care package to a family overseas, and helped out a needy single mum in my own neighbourhood; I was able to bless those who always encouraged me, and uplift those struggling through hard times.

How often do we see a need and think of doing something to help, but it never gets any further than that. The Blessing Project helped me to actually put these thoughts into action.

When I first came up with the Blessing Project, it seemed like such a little thing that I could do. But do you know who was most blessed? ME!

It really changed my focus; my thoughts were lifted off my own circumstances (in hindsight, I know that I was suffering from PND at the time) and I started thinking about others. I discovered the joy of giving and caring; and the Blessing Project became the subject of the very first magazine article I ever had published.

At the end of that year, I not only felt a tremendous sense of achievement, but had also strengthened many friendships and other relationships.

Have you ever made it a habit to practice (not-so) random acts of kindness?!

If you loved this story, my bloggy friend Raychael at Mystery Case wrote about regularly scheduling random acts of kindness into her life; while Bec at The Plumbette wrote about how to give when you have nothing to give – read them, and be inspired!

Linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT.

Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Thanks Haidee, that was why I did it – I knew I had to make it a “conscious” effort or I would never get around to it. I should probably think about doing it again in 2016, to be honest!

    • Just like your quote I shared yesterday on FB – I hope to inspire other people x

    • Random is GREAT, if you do them. But I tend to forget or not even think of it in the first place, so a structured project like this really helped me 🙂

    • Your post about Life Rules inspired me to actually put this story here on my blog, so thank you for the inspiration!

  5. I love this idea. Kate and I are on a mission to make fabric dolls for little girls who won’t get anything at Christmas. So far we are failing big time, well I am, they are all looking a bit demented so we have called in the cavalry, (those who can actually sew). Hopefully they can save the day.

    • That’s so lovely! Anything I made would probably end up in the dumpster, I am not very good at making things – I’m sure your efforts are kooky and quirky, unique and loveable – AND filled with love x

  6. I think this is a wonderful idea. The world needs much more kindness I feel. I have been going to my local Rotary and hope to become a Rotarian next year. They do great work in the community by fundraising and other means. BTW my dress size is 12 (just in case you feel like doing another blessing project). Lol

  7. Oh, this is just so lovely. I am a big believer that even the smallest acts of kindness can have a massive ongoing impact. Serious kudos to you x

    • Thanks Zilla – would be interesting to go back and see if any of the recipients remember or if it changed their life in any way. Except then it would look like I’m big noting myself, so I will just have to wonder 😉

  11. That’s such a lovely idea Janet. I know that when I do something kind for someone, it makes me feel good. I’ve actually been thinking of doing something similar to this next year. 🙂