One day, as I was walking down the street, I noticed a man wearing black was following an old woman, so I followed them to see if anything strange happened. The old woman was walking very slowly and she came to a narrow pass where probably her house was. She tried to find something in her bag but she started screaming when she suddenly saw the man threatening her. That’s when I made my move. I picked up a big stone and I thew it at his head. The man fell down and I quickly called the police. The old woman thanked me for helping her and the criminal ended up in prison, although he was injured.

It’s good doing something nice for other people because you feel nice too. So, in my opinion, if someone needs help you should not avoid them. Just give them a hand.

Vasia
Catherine Zgouras’ English School
Patras, Greece

“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.”

Rebecca- age 8
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“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.”

Billy – age 4
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“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.”

Karl – age 5
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“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.”

Chrissy – age 6
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“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.”

Terri – age 4
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“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.”

Danny – age 7
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“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.”

Emily – age 8
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“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.”

Bobby – age 7 (Wow!)
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“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.”

Nikka – age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka’s on this planet)
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“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.”

Noelle – age 7
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“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.”

Tommy – age 6
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“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.”

Cindy – age 8
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“My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.”

Clare – age 6
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“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.”

Elaine-age 5
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“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.”

Chris – age 7
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“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.”

Mary Ann – age 4
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“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.”

Lauren – age 4
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“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” (what an image)

Karen – age 7
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“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.”

Mark – age 6
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“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.”

Jessica – age 8
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And the final one.

“The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, ‘Nothing, I just helped him cry.”

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in “Mom let’s run through the rain,” she said.

“What?” Mom asked

“Let’s run through the rain!” She repeated.

“No, honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit,” Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and repeated: ” Mom , let’s run through the rain.”

“We’ll get soaked if we do,” Mom said.

“No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,” the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom’s arm.
“This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?”

“Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ‘If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!”

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn’t hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes.

Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child’s life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith

“Honey, you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If GOD let’s us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing,” Mom said..

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.

And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories … So, don’t forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

Sent by a friend in a coaching group…don’t forget to run through the rain!

love and light, hugs and blessings
Jerilynne “MamaRed”

Some weeks later, on a typical evening, my friend was having a beer at a bar. However, it turned out that evening would change everything. “Coincidently” he met the young lady from the train again, right there at the bar. It didn’t take much for them both to recognize each other and have now fallen in love.

It turns out she is from America and studying in over here in Germany, so we don’t know where their journey together will lead them. However, we know they met during a wonderful moment of kindness and compassion and not a “little” ocean can change that.

Silke, Munich, Germany

In the week that followed, many people told us that Christmas would never be the same. On the day of my son Heller’s life celebration, my mother said these words:

“Many people have mentioned the fact that this tragedy is heightened by the fact that it happened around Christmas, and they wonder how we will ever get through another Christmas. Christmas is Christ’s day and we will continue to celebrate Jesus on that day!”

But December 22 will be a day reserved for celebrating the life of Heller, and we will celebrate on that day the way he would want us to. On that day, we will go out and make a change, do a good deed, and let the world know that a little boy once lived for that special reason. On December 22, we would like everyone here to join us…walk up to a stranger out Christmas shopping, hand them $10.00, $25.00, or whatever; mend a broken relationship; help your mom around the house; or help an elderly neighbor decorate his house; do whatever you can to make someone else’s life a little better and tell them you are doing it for your nephew, friend, classmate, and that you are doing it to honor him.

And then, if you want to, cry a few tears. Finally, say a prayer of thanks to the God who allowed us to enjoy Heller for 9 years. And then on December 25th celebrate Christ with joy…with Heller.”

Heller was a special little boy. He had a heart of gold and we were always amazed at the love that poured from him for others. Below is a post sent to us through his memorial guestbook. It shows how even a nine-year-old can brighten someone’s day.

It reads:

“I’M SO VERY SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS. I worked in the school lunchroom at Alafia when Heller was in the 1st & 2nd grade and will always remember him telling me and Ms. Freda how pretty we looked and how pretty our shirt was each and every day. No matter how bad of day I was having he always may my day worthwhile. I love him and will miss him very much.”

Hayley
Valrico, FL United States

We were at a school function for the kids about a week ago, and there
was a disabled woman near the front door. She was leaning on a walker
and clearly was intimidated by the thought of navigating the crowds,
through a narrow area jammed with kids, so that she could get closer
to the stage and see everything.

My 4 year old son and I asked her if she would like a place to sit,
and when she gratefully accepted we grabbed a chair, parted the crowd
for her, and took her to the front.

It’s a little thing, bit in this big world it’s the little things
that matter:)

Erik, United States
www.thefasterwebmaster.com

Sheryl Clarke, United States

You should have seen the looks on the faces of those he did this for and on his mother’s face too. People smiled, complimented him, and complimented his mother. In return, the boy’s smile radiated like the sun itself. Win-win, wouldn’t you say?

~Jerilynne, Wauconda, IL USA