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”.
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.
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.
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.