Listening, talking and doing good for others

        I admit, I’m not always the best listener.
      Back in elementary school, my report card often had the category, “Usually doesn’t listen” checked.
        What can I say?
         I love to talk.
       In high school, I was sent to the dean’s office once for talking in architecture class my junior year.
      The dean called my mom to complain about my bad behavior only to have her tell him that he needed to spend more time cleaning up the smoke hole at school (the place where smokers took their daily breaks) and less time worrying about me talking in class.
I don’t remember what came from that episode, but I always appreciated my mom standing up for me.
      Talking is something that has hung with me for many moons. I’ve been a firm believer for years that talking opens up doors and creates opportunities. How does anyone know what is going on in your life if you don’t stop and talk? It starts with a simple hello.
        I can’t count on my hands and toes the number of stories and story leads I’ve gotten from visiting and talking with folks.
        It’s good to listen too, and that is an area I need to work on a bit more.
        Take for instance, this past Sunday evening.
      While fixing supper, Debbie was chatting with me from across the room. I admit, I didn’t hear much of what she was talking with me about.
       She was watching a crime show and I thought she was talking about that. That was not the case. She had a watched a Tik Tok video about a fellow in Wichita, Kan. who mowed and cleaned up badly overgrown yards, free of charge.
       He had received a call from a friend about an elderly lady who lived somewhere in the Wichita area.
       “So, I stopped by her house and her lawn was getting crazy,” said Spencer, owner of SB Mowing. “She’d been trying to get someone out to take care of it but nobody was answering their phones. The city had given her a warning for her grass and was going to charge her $240 to cut it, which she couldn’t afford.
       Spencer offered to mow the elderly lady’s yard, clean up the cracks in the driveway and cut down a large volunteer tree.
       When he was done, the lady expressed thanks and was touched by what he had done for her.
       Spencer posted a video on social media of him doing the work for this lady. That led to several of his viewers reaching out, offering to help the lady and asking him how they could do so.
      He went back to the elderly lady’s house and told her that there were people who wanted to help her do things such as fix her cracked driveway and make a ramp and fix up her back deck. He asked her if it would be OK if he started a Go Fund Me account for her.
      She couldn’t believe that anyone would want to help her financially, but she said that would be OK.
      Spencer asked the lady that if they received enough money, was there anything else she needed done in the house?
     She told him she needed a way to get up and down the basement stairs to the laundry. She also told him she had two windows that were broken and needed replaced.
Within 24 hours, 21,000 people had donated to the Go Fund Me and raised more than $500,000. He went back to tell her about the Go Fund Me account and she couldn’t believe it. She was almost in shock, saying “well, there is no fire here or no hurricane.”
       “Are these people from your church,” the lady went on to ask.
       “No, these are people from around the world,” Spencer told her.
       She said all her life, she had helped other people until she got down and out.
      “These kinds of things happen to other people, not to me,” she said. “All my prayers worked.”
       What a cool story in the midst of a world of craziness. Talking, listening, sharing your story and helping make life better for others is what life is all about to me.
       I encourage you to take time this week to do something good for a neighbor, a friend or even a stranger.
     I’m thankful Debbie shared the story with me. Hopefully I will do a better job listening next time.
     Have a great week and always remember that “Good Things are Happening,” every day.