It was a dark and rainy day…really. But today I don’t want to talk about gloomy things. I won’t bring up gun control issues, the Presidential candidates, the evangelicals and their rhetoric, the crazy liberals who want to give money away… none of that.
Today I want to praise kind and decent people. And if you’re a parent, I want to encourage you because kind and decent people train loving, generous kids. Do you have children who love to help others in need? Do they want to make Christmas presents for Grandma and Grandpa or give their teddy bear away to the poor kids?
Do you have children who know how to be good friends and who take some extra time with special needs folks? Do they patiently help those younger? Are they willing to help and work and share?
If so, I applaud you because you’ve trained up more kind and decent people.
We’re walking in dark times, friends. Let’s be thankful for those who know how to love and give and help. Let’s be those people.
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Dear Jan,
I stumbled upon your web presence at a home school website here in New Mexico, in the course of
offering local home schoolers several boxes of current, mostly non-fiction books, that I deem suitable for high-school age children. I was quite astonished by the love and kindness that fairly radiates from your site, your writings and posts. When I saw your title, “In praise of kind, decent, people”, I immediately asked myself WHERE! After a little reflection, it came to me that my life these past 7 or 8 years has been so deeply involved with the fight against evil and my own political writings that, while I have lost several people I loved, I no longer make room for others……… most recently, I lost my dearest friend, Bette, a writer like yourself, most involved with the Native American world, travel, the natural world and things spiritual. She died from leukemia, which took her rather quickly. Her loss has left a great void in my life. November 21, the last woman I will ever love, Renee, died in her sleep from a heart ailment. She was 47 years old, and I’m still wrestling with that. We were just at the point of planning a future together when she passed. And, laugh as you might, my darling little Kilmeny was mauled by a coyote five days ago. (She’s a two-year old tortoiseshell kitty) I thank God and pedialyte that she made it. It didn’t look good for awhile. There’s a lot more, but I won’t trouble you with that. My point is, I want to thank you for showing me that there is still another world out there, where people ARE kind, and decent. All I need do is look at your writings on India for a reminder, although I have been active to the extent I can with Walid Shoebat and his Christian refugee efforts, as well as the Nazarene Fund. On the political front, people are so hateful in their writing that it is very difficult to resist descending into literary malevolence……..I must confess to sarcasm, though.
MY THANKS, AND COMPLIMENTS to you and your husband on your work and to you especially for your writing. (Somewhere along the way I had meant to say that, when I learned to read about four years of age I just wanted to LEARN and haven’t stopped!)
Dear Charlie,
Well, you just made my day. We writers often sit in our offices all alone and write from our hearts, never knowing if the words go beyond the keyboard. Thank you so much for commenting. I do write to encourage a life full of love and generosity and I’m humbled that my words have meant something to you.
You’ve suffered. When life gets hard, we’re a bit more open to the comfort others give. I can see that you have the courage to reach out to others even though you’re hurting yourself. That’s a wonderful thing. In this holiday season and beyond, let’s be the people who give and love and care.
Our work in India and my writing are the two things that give purpose to my life these days. Thank you again for your encouraging words and I’m sending wishes your way for a warm, love-filled Christmas.
And this is why we write!