flutterbean

I believe in the kindness of strangers.

This afternoon I was doing my usual scan of the news on CNN.com, and came across a touching news story about a homeless teenage girl and her mom. Since mid-December, Katy, the teenage daughter has been blogging about her life being homeless. I spent nearly an hour or so reading through her daily posts, and the dozens of comments from strangers. People wrote to offer tips and information regarding resources that could help, others saying they would be praying for them. One person was so moved by their situation that they offered enough money for them to stay in a hotel for a few nights.
At the close of one of her posts, Katy wrote, "Life is kind of a nightmare." I too have uttered something similar many times in my life when I felt like things just weren't going my way. But I know I have never felt the helplessness that she and her mom must have felt sleeping in a car this Christmas. Unfortunately there will likely be many other families and children who find themselves without a roof over their heads in the months to come, with no end to this 'housing crisis' in sight.
But I have faith in God, and I believe in the generosity of humankind. Living in Southern California I have witnessed great tragedy and loss following two catastrophic fires in the past five years, yet I have also been lucky enough to see first hand the kindness and generosity of the people in my community. I believe it's a natural human reaction, call it compassion, to want to help people in time of need.
So, as I've been mulling over my goals (not resolutions!) for 2009, I've decided to put GIVING at the top of my list. While I generally do try to be a generous person, this year I want to make a concerted effort to DO more to help people, like Katy and her mom, who are down on their luck and could use a little help from the kindness of strangers.

Posted by Michelle at 2:01 PM |  
Labels: kindness, Sunday Scribblings