I am proud to introduce a new column to Madame Deals! I think we all need a touch point a place we can go to be inspired. Karla is my children’s teacher, a good friend, and a person with a heart of gold. I hope that her words will inspire you to do more. We are only as good as the people we surround ourselves with. It is important to listen with your heart and proceed with your eyes open. Enjoy!

Give a little…

The election is over; the guy with the most votes won so now what? Well, in the weeks leading up to the election social media was bombarded with political posts about both candidates and the complaints about the never ending political calls was the topic of many “water cooler” chats. Everyone was looking forward to the end so that we could all go back to normal (whatever that means) and get on with life (whatever that means). Guess what? The political phone calls may have stopped but the endless complaining has not. Let me start by saying that my guy didn’t win and as disappointed as I am I believe that what’s done is done and for lack of a better word, we have to move forward….yes I said forward. (This statement should make my daughter grin; I hope it does.) We cannot bury our heads in the sand for the next four years and “wait it out”, however, continuous complaining is not going to do anything either. If everyone complains and does nothing else, not only will we not move forward, we may wind up moving backward; something that I believe nobody wants to do.

Those who follow me know that I am a Christian and that I share meaningful faith filled stories from time to time; allow me to share something I learned in church this week that led me to today’s thoughts. During our children’s moments (a time when all the children come up front for a special story) my friend Nan shared a story about a little girl named Hattie who wanted to help her church. As the story goes, Hattie was six years old and had a medical condition that was very serious. The local pastor saw Hattie sitting outside the church one Sunday and invited her in; apparently the church was small and crowded and there was no room for Hattie. The pastor took her in and made room for her; consequently, he helped Hattie find a spot every Sunday for nearly two years. The congregation was trying to raise money to build a bigger church so that they could accommodate more people but after two years, they were still nowhere near the amount needed to begin the new building. Unfortunately Hattie’s health declined and she passed away. After speaking at her funeral, the pastor met with Hattie’s mother who gave him a small cup with 57 cents in it. Hattie’s mother shared with the pastor that Hattie had been saving her coins for two years in hopes to help build a bigger church. The following Sunday the pastor shared this story with the congregation. Everyone was so touched by Hattie’s dedication and determination that they decided to dig deep into their own pockets and before long they had enough money to build the bigger church. While the 57 cents didn’t really amount to anything on its own, that little girl’s determination and dedication caught the attention of those who could make a difference and the money was raised in her honor and the new church was built. Hattie saved all that she could and did so with a pure giving heart.

So what does this mean for us? The holidays are quickly approaching and before too long we will hear the jingles of the bells at the red pots outside of the shopping malls and super stores. There will be toy lifts, coat drives and much more. With our economy in distress and so many people out of work searching for ways to stay “afloat”, this holiday season will be pretty tough for some families. Those who suffer from the effects of the recent hurricane will likely feel the effects long after the holidays are over as well. Here’s a thought; what if we all decided to scale down this year for ourselves and give a little more to those in need? Novel idea? No, this idea has been around a long time, but I think that often times we believe that someone else is doing it when in reality nobody ends up doing it and nothing gets done. If everyone took a look around their own community and chose one person to help I believe that life would be a lot sweeter not only for those who receive but for those who give as well.

Sitting around complaining about our poor economy or choices that are made by our elected officials (local, state and federal) will do absolutely nothing. However, banning together and working for the common good will get us everywhere. Just like little Hattie who could have sat outside the church listening from a distance and decided that she wanted to do something we too need a vision. Whether it is to help out at a homeless shelter, soup kitchen or make an anonymous donation to a family in need we can make a difference. Life is full of choices. We can choose to be miserable. We can choose to be complacent. We can choose to complain. Or, we can choose to be positive and prosper. Use your voice to make a positive difference and I assure you that in the next four years, we can move forward whether your guy won or not.

Peace,

Karla

Check out all of Karla’s Korner articles here.

Also, please visit Karla’s Lifetime Moms page and read her articles.