The Kindness of StrangersFriends

A lot of you could tell that I was, um, a little sad the other day. And you reached out to me in all different ways -- comments, tweets, emails -- and I was so touched.

Within seconds of sharing my heartbreak about D's speech therapy being on hold, I got a message from a fantastic woman, Barb, who is the genius behind Snappin' Ministries. In a nutshell, when their son was born with severe hemophilia, they started looking for faith-based support. Now, granted, Barb and I have different faiths, but I understand her completely -- and I am so, so impressed with what she has created.

Anyway, Barb got in touch with me and told me to fill out an application -- that maybe they would be able to offer some assistance to my family. And I did, and she did, and I can't tell you how overwhelmingly grateful I am. And it's not just the money, although, of course, that helps immensely. It's that idea that strangers in the computer can reach out and become my friends and touch my life, and my family, in so many ways. I am awed by it, again and again.

I'm not good at asking for help. In fact, I kind of suck at it. But yesterday when I spoke to a friend of mine about Barb's offer, she told me to take it with a whole heart. "People want to help," she said, and she didn't mean it in a trite way. She meant that so often, we feel that there is so little we can do to help others that it's nice to have a tangible way to provide support. She also reminded me that what I do is hard, even if I tend to forget that sometimes.

So. I'm grateful. And humbled. And so glad to be a recipient of the kindness of friends.