On Tuesday night, I was standing in my kitchen listening to my mother-in-law, Kay, talk to her mom on the phone. Her mom is in her late 80s, still lives at home, and admittedly can be “difficult.” Kay was listening to her, repeating herself, listening more, repeating herself.
This is just one of the many conversations she has with her mom, along with the many trips to her house, doctor’s appointments, emergency rooms, etc. Kay has two brothers, but both live out of state, and she has taken on the largest dose of the responsibility. No knock on them. It’s just how it worked out.
While listening to her, I thought to myself, “It takes a lot of character and love to care for someone like that.”
The next day, I was en route to Vail, CO, and sent Kay this text message:
“I wanted to tell you, Kay, that I know you take the brunt of your mom’s care. I can’t imagine how hard that is. And you are doing a better job than you give yourself credit for. It’s pretty amazing watching you do it, and it doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Her response:
“Well, thank you very much. You’re right. It’s not easy, but we have to do what we have to do. Thank you very much.”
The reason I’m sharing this with you, outside of giving props to Kay, is that there are a lot of people around you right now who are quietly doing remarkable things too. Not the types of things that get put on billboards, social profiles, or bank statements. The types of things that show true character and real love.
You might even be one of those people.
My challenge to you is to think of one person and send them a text like I did to Kay above. You never know who needs to hear a little encouragement or just needs the tiniest bit of recognition.
Let them know that you see what they are doing and that it doesn’t go unnoticed.
What’s so powerful about this type of gesture is that the benefit isn’t felt just by the person receiving it. The person sending it gets something too. There are few feelings in the world that match shining a positive light on someone.
There’s a line often credited to Ralph Waldo Emerson that has it right:
“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.”
live freed,
Jordan
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