Karla’s Korner: Remembering Someone I Never Knew

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!

Remembering Someone I Never Knew…

As I sat down to share my thoughts for the week, they (my thoughts) are all over the place. My 45 th birthday is just a few days away, my husband is going away on his annual golf outing for a few days, it’s parents weekend at my daughter’s college and my son is making plans with his youth group to go apple picking. Life is busy; good but very busy. My husband announced my upcoming birthday in church on Sunday which brought forth the same question from quite a few folks; “how old will you be…29?” I surprised them by answering “45”. Most folks try to avoid the “how old are you?” question but I feel like every year is an accomplishment of sorts and should be celebrated. After all, some folks don’t get the privilege to live to be 45; which brings me to share my thoughts on such a serious matter.

I recently received a Facebook event invitation from someone I do not know. This event was not really an event, more of a day of awareness for a young girl whose life ended way too soon; she was in the eighth grade. I never knew her, but I know a few members of her family; I remember the day she passed away. Samantha was born on October 22, 1995 with muscular dystrophy; something from what I understand did not stand in her way. From stories I have heard and read, she was a force to be reckoned with and made friends with everyone she met. According to pictures I have seen and once again stories that have been shared, she loved to dance, even though she was confined to a wheel chair. Those in her life made sure that she was never left our or left behind. Her parents and sisters learned how to take care of her medical needs and did so with the purest form of love there is. While some would look at the situation that Samantha was faced with as bleak, sad or unfortunate, her family chose to look at it differently. Samantha was one of them. She made them laugh, cry, sing, dance and be happy; no different any other child would do. So when Samantha passed away in her eighth grade year of middle school, she left a big void in many lives; not just her family but many friends as well. I never met her though I wish I had.

The Facebook event honoring Samantha is quite simple. Everyone is asked to wear pink on Samantha’s 17th birthday and perform a random act of kindness for someone in her honor because she was always thinking of ways to do something nice for others. I already have my pretty pink scarf laid out waiting for me to wear in her honor and am working on ideas for my act of kindness.

I work with Samantha’s momma and while I know that this will be a difficult time for her and her family as they remember this special day, I am sure they will appreciate seeing everyone wearing pink and sharing their stories of how they shared kindnesses to others on that day. But what about sharing kindness every day; or at least more often? Shouldn’t we be kind all of the time? The world would be such a better place if we spent more time giving and less time  focusing on our own wants and wishes. I encourage you to take a little time this week and do something kind for someone to honor a young girl whose life ended too soon; and because kindness is important. It doesn’t have to cost a ton of money or take a great amount of time. Kindness comes in many shapes and sizes and could be something as small as holding the door for someone at the grocery store or reading a book to your child when you have other things to do.

Whatever you do, always remember that life is precious and should be lived to its fullest. No matter how you travel down your life road, I encourage you to travel with purpose. Be thoughtful, faithful and kind. Life your life in way that brings joy to others; and by doing so you will find your life full of joy as well.

Peace,

Karla

Check out all of Karla’s Korner articles here.

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