kindness remembered

[Jullianna]

I was thinking this morning about something that happened many years ago, when I was a very young wife/mother. I was at a laundry, finishing the last load, which happened to be my family's white things. For whatever reason, city workers flushed the hydrant in front of the building, forcing dirty, rusty water up into the washing machine and turning all of our things an ugly orange.

I was so upset when I looked inside. I was working/finishing college, my husband was trying to build a family business and we had a baby, so money was pretty tight. I was nearly in tears wondering how I was going to replace everything.

There was an elderly woman working at the laundry. She apparently did wash/ironing for people. I had seen her stand for long periods of time ironing clothes. She never said much, but we had always smiled and waved at one another. She'd once shown me how to fold a fitted sheet after watching me wrestle it and finally roll it up into a messy bundle.

She saw how upset I was and came over to see what was wrong. She told me to wait until she came back. She went to a drugstore next to the laundry and came back with two packages of Rit color remover. We put them both in the washer and rewashed everything. The whites came out whiter than when I had put them in. I was so relieved. She wouldn't let me pay her for the color remover either.

I'm sure she has passed on by now, but I have never forgotten her. We may think the little things we do go unnoticed and unremembered, but I can see the Father letting her know that HE saw what she did.

I'm sure we all have memories of kindnesses people have shown us. What are some of yours?

 

[MissCris]

When I was 23, I worked as a cashier at a grocery store. I wasn't...good...at this job. It was a lot of stuff to remember, all while dealing with customers who would talk when I was trying to concentrate, and I'm just bad with numbers and whatnot anyway.

One day, I had...a breakdown. I'd gotten into trouble with my manager over something to do with taking checks- can't remember what it was now. I'd also had my line stall for twenty minutes because the stupid coupon machine got jammed and started leaking ink everywhere. Another manager came to see what the problem was, after I'd been calling him for several minutes, and instead of helping me fix the machine, he started yelling at me. The customers in my line were fidgety and I could hear a few of them complaining.

When the line got moving again, a woman came through with a food stamp card. For whatever reason, the card reader was NOT reading this card. I kept trying, and I kept calling a manager, and nobody would come to help. A young woman who was next in line huffed really loudly and said, "This store USUALLY has competent people working, this is ridiculous. I'm not shopping here again until they fire this idiot."

That was the point at which I lost it and started crying. I was tired, I was covered in ink, my feet hurt and my head was throbbing, and this spoiled little girl who was tired of waiting to purchase a razor and a fashion magazine had pushed me beyond my limits. I shut off my light, told the cashier at the register behind me that I was leaving, and went outside and sat on the bench. I didn't have a car at that point- my husband drove me to and from work. I would have to wait over an hour for him to show up, because I didn't have a phone, either, and I wasn't going back inside to use the store phone.

While I was sitting there losing my mind and failing to stop crying, an older woman I'd seen a few times sat down next to me. She always rode a bike, and this bike had a basket on it that contained everything she owned. She was on a "watch this person any time they enter the store" list- I don't know if she had ever stolen anything, but it was obvious she was homeless, which, in the town I lived in, automatically made her "suspicious".

She didn't say anything at first. She just sat there, smoking a cigarette, and looking at her shoes. Then she offered me a cigarette (you know, back when I smoked- wow, it's a nice feeling to say that...ahem, yeah, minor thought derailment there). After I'd gotten calmed down some, she said, "You know, I always liked that name- Cristen." She pointed to my name badge, and I just kind of mumbled "thanks" and tried to ignore her. Then she said, "Yep. I had a daughter with that name. Spelled it different, but it's just a d*** good name." When I didn't say anything, she stood up and took hold of the handlebars on her bike, and started to walk away. Then she stopped, turned back around, and said, "I've had one or two bad days myself, in my time, so I know what it looks like when someone else is having one. I don't know what you're going to do to make it better, but you know what I'd do? I'd march back in there and get right back to ringing up rich folks' toilet paper. Cuz that's how you beat 'em, Cristen- you don't let 'em beat you." (That wasn't her EXACT speech, but super close).

I didn't see that woman again in the 3 more months I worked there. And I didn't get, at the time, the kindness she had shown me. But a couple of years ago, after a few more hard knocks, I'd find that I remembered her more and more often. I still think about what she did for me. She was gruff, and smelly, and looked like she either drank or did drugs, and I'd never given her a second thought before...but she cared about me, and she didn't have to.

 

[jrccomputer]

Man, guys I love these. They bring a trear to my eye. Great thread

 

[KJV15John11]

I was thinking this morning about something that happened many years ago, when I was a very young wife/mother. I was at a laundry, finishing the last load, which happened to be my family's white things. For whatever reason, city workers flushed the hydrant in front of the building, forcing dirty, rusty water up into the washing machine and turning all of our things an ugly orange.

I was so upset when I looked inside. I was working/finishing college, my husband was trying to build a family business and we had a baby, so money was pretty tight. I was nearly in tears wondering how I was going to replace everything.

There was an elderly woman working at the laundry. She apparently did wash/ironing for people. I had seen her stand for long periods of time ironing clothes. She never said much, but we had always smiled and waved at one another. She'd once shown me how to fold a fitted sheet after watching me wrestle it and finally roll it up into a messy bundle.

She saw how upset I was and came over to see what was wrong. She told me to wait until she came back. She went to a drugstore next to the laundry and came back with two packages of Rit color remover. We put them both in the washer and rewashed everything. The whites came out whiter than when I had put them in. I was so relieved. She wouldn't let me pay her for the color remover either.

I'm sure she has passed on by now, but I have never forgotten her. We may think the little things we do go unnoticed and unremembered, but I can see the Father letting her know that HE saw what she did.

I'm sure we all have memories of kindnesses people have shown us. What are some of yours?

View attachment 60372

And now you have passed that helpful household tip onto us. Her legacy continues!

 

[KJV15John11]

When I was 23, I worked as a cashier at a grocery store. I wasn't...good...at this job. It was a lot of stuff to remember, all while dealing with customers who would talk when I was trying to concentrate, and I'm just bad with numbers and whatnot anyway.

One day, I had...a breakdown. I'd gotten into trouble with my manager over something to do with taking checks- can't remember what it was now. I'd also had my line stall for twenty minutes because the stupid coupon machine got jammed and started leaking ink everywhere. Another manager came to see what the problem was, after I'd been calling him for several minutes, and instead of helping me fix the machine, he started yelling at me. The customers in my line were fidgety and I could hear a few of them complaining.

When the line got moving again, a woman came through with a food stamp card. For whatever reason, the card reader was NOT reading this card. I kept trying, and I kept calling a manager, and nobody would come to help. A young woman who was next in line huffed really loudly and said, "This store USUALLY has competent people working, this is ridiculous. I'm not shopping here again until they fire this idiot."

That was the point at which I lost it and started crying. I was tired, I was covered in ink, my feet hurt and my head was throbbing, and this spoiled little girl who was tired of waiting to purchase a razor and a fashion magazine had pushed me beyond my limits. I shut off my light, told the cashier at the register behind me that I was leaving, and went outside and sat on the bench. I didn't have a car at that point- my husband drove me to and from work. I would have to wait over an hour for him to show up, because I didn't have a phone, either, and I wasn't going back inside to use the store phone.

While I was sitting there losing my mind and failing to stop crying, an older woman I'd seen a few times sat down next to me. She always rode a bike, and this bike had a basket on it that contained everything she owned. She was on a "watch this person any time they enter the store" list- I don't know if she had ever stolen anything, but it was obvious she was homeless, which, in the town I lived in, automatically made her "suspicious".

She didn't say anything at first. She just sat there, smoking a cigarette, and looking at her shoes. Then she offered me a cigarette (you know, back when I smoked- wow, it's a nice feeling to say that...ahem, yeah, minor thought derailment there). After I'd gotten calmed down some, she said, "You know, I always liked that name- Cristen." She pointed to my name badge, and I just kind of mumbled "thanks" and tried to ignore her. Then she said, "Yep. I had a daughter with that name. Spelled it different, but it's just a d*** good name." When I didn't say anything, she stood up and took hold of the handlebars on her bike, and started to walk away. Then she stopped, turned back around, and said, "I've had one or two bad days myself, in my time, so I know what it looks like when someone else is having one. I don't know what you're going to do to make it better, but you know what I'd do? I'd march back in there and get right back to ringing up rich folks' toilet paper. Cuz that's how you beat 'em, Cristen- you don't let 'em beat you." (That wasn't her EXACT speech, but super close).

I didn't see that woman again in the 3 more months I worked there. And I didn't get, at the time, the kindness she had shown me. But a couple of years ago, after a few more hard knocks, I'd find that I remembered her more and more often. I still think about what she did for me. She was gruff, and smelly, and looked like she either drank or did drugs, and I'd never given her a second thought before...but she cared about me, and she didn't have to.

A good reminder to treat customer service people kindly, they have a lot to deal with. Also, never to judge a book by its cover or a person by their appearance.

 

[Grace-Like-Rain]

One day after church I was headed home with my kids. We lived in the country, down several farm roads with very little traffic. I had a flat tire. Pulled over on the side of the road, and realized that the spare tire was also flat. Kids were young, like 4 and 7 yo. I called a friend from church who left the restaurant where he was eating and drove out to help. While he was on his way, a guy drove by and stopped to see if he could help. He looked kinda like a thug... gold chains, a gold tooth, baggy pants and a car with gold rims. He was very very kind. He waited with me until my friend showed up, and then went on his way. Kindness #1.

Friend arrived. He took the tire off, took us to Walmart, and waited while they fixed it. Then drove us back out and put the tire back on. In the sun, in 100 degree heat. Kindness #2.

We parted ways and I continued toward home. A few miles further down the road the OTHER tire went flat. (I'm not making this up folks! Those tires actually got recalled later that year.) I pulled over again. I had just surveyed my situation when a truck pulls up. It's an oil field worker. He's obviously just gotten off work - his clothes are dirty and he looks tired. We produce half a can of fix-a-flat from somewhere and he helps me put it in the tire. He warns me to drive really slow, and we part ways. Kindness #3.

A few more miles down the road, the tire just completely falls apart. It's shredded. I don't know what to do. No spare, two young kids, too far to walk and way too hot. I was standing there in my long Sunday dress staring at that stupid tire when another car drives up and stops. It's an elderly lady in a fancy car. She has a little dog harnessed in the front passenger seat. She sees my situation and offers to give us a ride home. We are miles out of her way, but we climb in the backseat and she drives us all the way back to our house. Kindness #4.

I don't think I've ever felt so grateful in a single day as I did that day. Or so protected by God, who had his eyes on us the entire time, and a plan in place before we ever began our ride home. These four people - so different from each other... they could have been angels in my path for all I know. (Well, the friend isn't an angel, haha, but he sure has been a blessing to me over the years.) Anyway, I was a basket case by the time I got home, but one of the first things I did was write it all down so I'd never forget it. It was an amazing and humbling lesson in God's provision and in the kindness of strangers.

 

[PopClick]

One time I was getting seriously creeped on at a gas station, and an older guy watched out for me and hung around to make sure I was okay. I didn't thank him properly, and I've regretted it ever since. I was a little shaken up, but that's no excuse and I wish like anything that I'd shown my gratitude more.

Also, another cc member helped me get in touch with someone who had left the site. I bet they don't even remember it, but I do. Thank you.

 

[Jullianna]

One time I was getting seriously creeped on at a gas station, and an older guy watched out for me and hung around to make sure I was okay. I didn't thank him properly, and I've regretted it ever since. I was a little shaken up, but that's no excuse and I wish like anything that I'd shown my gratitude more.

Also, another cc member helped me get in touch with someone who had left the site. I bet they don't even remember it, but I do. Thank you.

The cool thing is that we can still ask God to touch someone's life wherever they may be when we do that.

 

[Oncefallen]

The first thing that came to mind when I read the OP was something that happened to me 15 years ago. I spent the month of November sitting in jail (don't ask) on the other side of the state from where I live. The entire time I was dealing with the court my attorney had told me that my probation would be transferred to where I currently live so I would be able to go home as soon as I got out of jail. A couple of days into my sentence a Probation Officer came to see me to fill out all the paperwork for the probation transfer and tells me that IF the transfer is approved I'll be able to go home as soon as I get out.

Needless to say panic set in....what did she mean IF? I had only lived in that town for a year and hadn't lived there for over six months. I had no job there, no place to stay if my probation transfer wasn't approved. I had been lead to believe that it was just a matter of shuffling some paperwork, not IF...... That night I called my folks to tell them about my fears and of course they were similarly concerned about the situation.

Scroll forward a couple of days I get called out by the pod officer for visitation. I wasn't expecting a visit because only my folks had visited me and I wasn't expecting them for a couple of days. I went to the visitation area and sitting there in the room I was told to go to was a man I had never seen before. I went back to the guard to make sure a mistake hadn't been made about which visitation room I was supposed to go to and he assured me it was the correct room. Sooooo, I go back to the room and this man proceeds to introduce himself with the clarification that "you don't know me" (well duh Mr. Obvious ).

He proceeded to explain why he was there. My folks had shared my circumstances with their Bible Study group at church for prayer and one of the couples there knew someone that lived where I was in jail. They called him and explained what was going on and he came to visit me. I had a man sitting in front of me that didn't know me from Adam telling me that if my probation transfer wasn't approved to contact him when I got out. He told me that I could stay with him as long as was necessary and that since he had lived in the town for thirty plus years he would be able to get me a job somewhere in spite of my criminal conviction.

I never saw him again after that since my transfer was approved, but from time to time I remember the God sent good samaritan that calmed my fears that day.

 

[KJV15John11]

Thank you Oncefallen for sharing that. It jogged a memory out of me.

I was 19 and had just been stationed in Orlando, FL. A friend of mine from New Mexico came for a visit. We had decided to go down to Miami and check it out. As we were driving in Miami, I ended up rear-ending another vehicle. After the police filled out the report and insurances were exchanged, we left, feeling my car hadn't suffered much damage.

Even though my car was still in okay condition, we had decided to head home, since the accident put a damper on our trip. That actually ended up being a God send because on the way home, my car wouldn't restart after we stopped at a rest stop along the interstate. Not knowing anyone in the area and being a Saturday, I didn't know where to turn. Thankfully, I had a directory of all the churches in Florida given to me by my pastor, in the glove compartment. (This was long before cell phones and google) I used a pay phone and called the local pastor's home residence.

It just so happened to be that the local pastor was also an automobile mechanic. He came out to the rest stop and looked over my car. Apparently during the accident, a small hole had been punctured into my car battery and the acid had slowly run out. The pastor drove us to the local Sears, by now, all the automotive stores were closed, and I purchased a battery. He helped us change the batteries out, I not having any tools, and sent us on our way.

Looking back, I realized that if any of that had happened in any other way, me deciding to stay in Miami longer, stopping at a different rest stop, etc. that the blessing might not have occurred. God truly works in mysterious ways.

 

[djness]

I don't really have any stories like this. I'm sure someone has helped me out at some point but nothing that really left any huge life long lesson or impression. I will say thought that one persons gratitude has stuck with me for a long. A guy came in my store once years back and asked me if I could help him with something so I did. He reached out his hand to shake mine, which his hand was quite dirty and I thought about it for a second but figured oh well he is another human being. So I reached out to shake his hand. While our hands were grasped he turned my hand and bent over and kissed the back of my hand. As if I was the pope or some sort of royalty. Then he said something like ''Bless you in the name of Jesus'' and left.

I have always remembered that because of the utter humility and gratitude that man must have had and how I wonder if I am ever that grateful towards other people or God.

 

[lil_christian]

You guys have probably heard this story two or three times now. But I never get tired of telling it.

Last year, I went on a short-term mission trip. That week was all kinds of crazy for me. Severe nausea, lack of appetite, it being really hot outside...though I had a good time the whole time I was there. Anyways, the day before the last day we were there, I had worn flip-flops to the location we were going to be at. I want to say that was another day I wasn't feeling too good. But we weren't going out into the field that day, we were staying in, watching presentations on the homeless of that area, and about human trafficking. As we were going into the presentation on the homeless (at least it happened inside...), my flip-flops broke.

We tried EVERYTHING to get them fixed. We were making duct tape wallets and I tried to use duct tape to fix them. Didn't work. We were doing a mosaic artwork, and I used crafting glue (which was supposed to be strong). Didn't work. So then we finally had to go outside into the parking lot, and go to a 30-60 minute worship service. On the way there, I was walking alongside one of the guys in our group. I held up my flip-flop, and said to him, "This is why people should bring extra shoes." (something along those lines.) He looked at the flip-flop, looked at me, and smiled and said, "Yeah, I understand that. " and told me how he was at an orientation for college, and his flip-flop broke there, too. Unfortunately, I had to walk on REALLY hot pavement to get into the building. It hurt...badly. I did kind of this awkward hop from the pavement to the sidewalk again. lol

Anyways, we had the worship service, and on the way out, I was mumbling, "God, I need a pair of flip-flops. Dunno how you're going to do it though, since - " suddenly, the same guy I talked to on the way to the service, came up to me and said, "Hey, I just realized I have an extra pair of flip-flops in my backpack if you want to borrow them." and I said, "Yeah, okay..." I was completely dumbfounded. So thankfully, I didn't have to walk on the hot pavement again, and I thanked him like 6 or 7 times, haha. He even let me wear them the next day, since we were doing a car wash that day, and doing a carwash in shoes...it makes your shoes really wet and it feels really weird.

I still keep in contact with that guy, though I haven't seen him in a long time. I still pray for him and hope I might randomly see him again (since he has a way of just showing up at places I don't expect him to be. He did that 3 different times. lol)

 

[djness]

He looked at the flip-flop, looked at me, and smiled and said, "Yeah, I understand that. " and told me how he was at an orientation for college, and his flip-flop broke there, too. Unfortunately, I had to walk on REALLY hot pavement to get into the building. It hurt...badly. I did kind of this awkward hop from the pavement to the sidewalk again. lol

Prince Charming should have carried you to the building! Then when he showed up with the flip flops later [glass slipper] you would know he was the one!

 

[AsifinPassing]

There are many, but memory is the key. Therein lies a problem.

Nonetheless, I can at least recall a few...

Once, when I was a child of around 6-8, I was at the Walmart checkout. Back then, it was all people based, and there were no differentiations on item amounts or the like. I had wanted something...trivial really, overall, but at the time...it was quite important to me (I think it was a toy or a snack or something).

Anyway, I was short a little over a dollar, which was a lot of money for a child of semi-poor parents back then. Well, the lady behind me, not knowing me from Adam or even having ever met me, dropped what seemed like a TON of change all over the counter. It literally spilled out across most of the surface area.

She said, "Take it out of that." and then turned to smile at me saying something to the effect of "Merry Christmas."

Looking back, she seemed about as poor as I was (based on clothing and the like), but I always remembered that.

Like I said, that cup is full, and I'll have to try and gather a few more drops to share as time and will allow.

 

[lil_christian]

Prince Charming should have carried you to the building! Then when he showed up with the flip flops later [glass slipper] you would know he was the one!

Oh, you think so, Mr. Comedian?

Hold on, the slippers/flip-flops would have had to fit me, right?? That's how the story goes. When he handed the flip-flops to me, he set them down and said "They might be a little big," and I looked at them and said, "Probably." When I put them on, they were like 2 sizes too big. lol So I think I'm outta luck for that one. Though who'm I to limit God....

 

[zeroturbulence]

I was thinking this morning about something that happened many years ago, when I was a very young wife/mother. I was at a laundry, finishing the last load, which happened to be my family's white things. For whatever reason, city workers flushed the hydrant in front of the building, forcing dirty, rusty water up into the washing machine and turning all of our things an ugly orange.

I was so upset when I looked inside. I was working/finishing college, my husband was trying to build a family business and we had a baby, so money was pretty tight. I was nearly in tears wondering how I was going to replace everything.

There was an elderly woman working at the laundry. She apparently did wash/ironing for people. I had seen her stand for long periods of time ironing clothes. She never said much, but we had always smiled and waved at one another. She'd once shown me how to fold a fitted sheet after watching me wrestle it and finally roll it up into a messy bundle.

She saw how upset I was and came over to see what was wrong. She told me to wait until she came back. She went to a drugstore next to the laundry and came back with two packages of Rit color remover. We put them both in the washer and rewashed everything. The whites came out whiter than when I had put them in. I was so relieved. She wouldn't let me pay her for the color remover either.

I'm sure she has passed on by now, but I have never forgotten her. We may think the little things we do go unnoticed and unremembered, but I can see the Father letting her know that HE saw what she did.

I'm sure we all have memories of kindnesses people have shown us. What are some of yours?

View attachment 60372

I've tried but I can't remember one instance when someone surprised me with kindness.

 

[Jullianna]

The flat tire story reminded me of another kindness..........

I was driving home very late one night. When I got out of the city the fog was so intense that I finally pulled as far off the side of the road as I could and turned on my flashers in hopes it would lift a bit eventually. I have never been able to see well at night anyway, so it was really a problem.

I'd been sitting there about fifteen minutes when a small red sports car pulled behind me. A man got out and knocked on my window. It was a man I had arrested a couple of years before on drug charges. He'd served his time locally and had actually turned out to be a pretty good guy who'd repaired/washed/waxed our cars while serving his time. It was life changing for him.

The angle of his lights permitted him to see under the fog, so I was able to follow him to my house. I thanked him, he drove off and I've never seen him since. I pray that God continued the work in his life.

 

[zeroturbulence]

The flat tire story reminded me of another kindness..........

I was driving home very late one night. When I got out of the city the fog was so intense that I finally pulled as far off the side of the road as I could and turned on my flashers in hopes it would lift a bit eventually. I have never been able to see well at night anyway, so it was really a problem.

I'd been sitting there about fifteen minutes when a small red sports car pulled behind me. A man got out and knocked on my window. It was a man I had arrested a couple of years before on drug charges. He'd served his time locally and had actually turned out to be a pretty good guy who'd repaired/washed/waxed our cars while serving his time. It was life changing for him.

The angle of his lights permitted him to see under the fog, so I was able to follow him to my house. I thanked him, he drove off and I've never seen him since. I pray that God continued the work in his life.

I thought you were going to say you found out later that he had passed away months before... a classic ghost story!

 

[Liamson]

The flat tire story reminded me of another kindness..........

I was driving home very late one night. When I got out of the city the fog was so intense that I finally pulled as far off the side of the road as I could and turned on my flashers in hopes it would lift a bit eventually. I have never been able to see well at night anyway, so it was really a problem.

I'd been sitting there about fifteen minutes when a small red sports car pulled behind me. A man got out and knocked (OUT) my window. It was a man I had arrested a couple of years before on drug charges. He'd served his time locally and had actually turned out to be a pretty good guy who'd repaired/washed/waxed our cars while serving his time. It was life changing for him.

The angle of his lights permitted him to see under the fog, so I was able to follow him to my house. I thanked him, he drove off and I've never seen him since. I pray that God continued the work in his life.

I read it like 4 times trying to make sense of it, before I discovered that the word was actually ON and not OUT.

 

[Jullianna]

I read it like 4 times trying to make sense of it, before I discovered that the word was actually ON and not OUT.

Yours is funnier, but a little creepy