Start a ripple... and it might turn into a wave!!!

There have been some things that have surfaced among a group of friends that I am in. These things have left many of us very hurt and upset. It dealt with a charitable issue and I was very afraid that people would be turned off to being charitable because of it. I did NOT want that to happen!!!!!

Luckily we were in Charleston speaking when the whole thing happened and that gave me time to think about what I should say in regards to the whole thing. After much thought I told my friends that I hoped they would realize that no matter what... what THEY did was an amazing thing. They shared out of LOVE... I explained to them that as LOVE is shared it grows. As love grows it seeks to bless more and more people.

I am so lucky to have been experiencing the love of this amazing group for many years now and I have really truly been trying to "pay it forward" in the past few months. Today I managed to start a little ripple. I posted the stories of 8 friends of mine whose children are all fighting battles of their own. I wanted them to see how much hurt was in the world and give them good suggestions for sharing and growing their love.

I made a request that they be screened to donate a kidney for a little girl that so desperately needs one, or that they buy a simple tube of butt balm for a child whose parents desperately want it but cannot afford the amount they need, or to simply send a message to a few friends to let them know that they were praying for them.....

My ripple... turned into a wave in a matter of hours. As of now.. three people have called to be screened to possibly donate a kidney, 4 cases of butt balm are on their way and we are working on finding a way to get a family to the beach so that their terminally ill baby girl can experience the ocean with her family for the first and last time.

I am absolutely dumbfounded and amazed and very humbled by the compassion and love that my friends have shown to perfect strangers and to myself and I am LUCKY to call them my friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So.... if there is one thing that I can ask from each of you reading this... start a ripple... do something small...pay it forward... grow and share your love. You really will never have any idea how much you SMALL thing may change someone's life!!!