Monday, February 15, 2010

Paying it Forward


I'm gonna love this one.

A friend of mine had a really cool status update in Facebook today, I asked her if I could blog about it. Just in time for me to give up Facebook for Lent on a positive note, w00t!

Her story:

Best part of the day, we were pulling into a parking space and I saw a $20 bill blowing by in the wind, so I jumped out of the car and ended up with $70! No one around to claim it so we bought the bagged meals for CCA donation to feed the hungry. It was like being in the money box with the wind blowing the bills around.

I immediately went to Ellen Degeneres's show in my mind, she's always surprising people by sending her crew to their house with a wind money machine. They're asked to get inside the machine, the internal fans are turned on, and they get a small amount of time to stuff money anywhere they can in order to have it "on" them when the machine is turned off. Whatever they have on them, they get to keep. I have to also say that I've heard her say hundreds of times; "oh you get to keep ALL of it by the way". I love this part of her show, she's helped so many people that are down on their luck.

My friend chose not to keep it for herself, but to donate it to CCA (Christian Community Action) to help feed those that can't afford food. I've been to the CCA center in Lewisville, TX. What they have going on there is nothing short of wonderful.

I was wondering how many people would have done the same thing my friend did, or kept the money for themselves. Human nature is a funny thing. It could go either way. It could be that the person that found the money, actually needed it. Maybe they had a bill they didn't know how they were going to pay, or needed groceries they didnt have money for.

But Molly chose to help someone else with it. I love that.

Thanks for the inspiration Molly, and the reminder that there really are good people out there. This post is for you.

Until next time,
Tiffany

P.S. NO idea what is for breakfast at Tiffany's in the morning. But I'm oncall, working from home, beginning at noon. Did you just say CAFE BRAZIL? I thought I heard you say that. =)

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Love that you shared! Ellen's money machine was exactly what I was thinking about while I was chasing the bills in the wind. Funny thing, I had just "paid it forward" on Sunday so my first thought when holding the money on Monday was, I am being "re-paid". So, I was now able to help out some more. All of my life I have been reminded over and over that I am always taken care of, and I am happy to pass that along when I can. One of my favorite stories of being taken care of, I was going through a really rough patch in life and on a Sunday at church, after much mental debate, I put my last $20 in the offering. The next day my son got really sick and I took him to the doctor, but when we left I literally did not have the money for his prescription. Not one to ask for help, I was struggling with the idea of having to wait until Friday, payday, to fill it. Later that day I went to the mailbox and there was a refund check from my insurance company for $14.00. I was able to go get his prescription and some snacks and juice for him.
I am in an amazing place in my life now, but I remember this story any time I'm feeling overwhelmed or alone. We are never alone and as long as we are there for others and do all we can to pay it forward everything will be alright.

Anonymous said...

Molly please, if you do anything for me at all, please blog. YOU are an inspiration to me more than you know, because of stories like these. Annnnd thanks for reading. I wish we were still neighbors, You're awesome!

verl said...

Molly's story definitely warmed my heart & was extremely touching. Thanks Tiffany for sharing this inspiring story! Others definitely need to read this! It's so true,we are NEVER alone, as long as we're there for others.