Hagen and his mom and dad flew to
Dallas, Texas, and then rented a car to drive to a family funeral. As they traveled away from the airport, they
soon realized that Hagen’s favorite Buzz Lightyear figure had been left on the
plane. They found out that the doll had
not been turned in and the plane was now on its way from Love Field to Little
Rock, Arkansas, the final destination of the day. In Little Rock, Jason, a Ramp Agent at LIT,
was making the final check of the plane for the day when he noticed Hagen’s
buddy. Jason’s eye caught something
written on the bottom of one of Buzz’s boots: Hagen. After some investigation, he found that only
one Hagen had been a passenger on the plane that day. Jason then began to take action, knowing he
would be mailing Buzz back to his friend.
He wrote a letter to Hagen and told him about Buzz’s adventures on his
Southwest flight and time in the Little Rock Airport. He also included pictures of Buzz at the
various places. Before mailing, Jason
hand-decorated the box. A few days later
the surprise package arrived at its destination. There was a joyous reunion with young Hagen
and Buzz. Ashley, Hagen’s mother
responded, “There’s definitely not enough good in this world, and for someone
to take the time out of their day to do that for strangers means the world to
us.”
Randy Smalls, from South Carolina, was contacted by Richauna
Reese to let him know of a problem she hoped he could help remedy. Smalls 7th grade daughter, and
some of her friends, had been making fun of and bullying Ryan Reese because of
the way she dressed, her choice of shoes, and her hairstyle. After the recent death of her father, grandfather,
and aunt, the bullying was weighing heavily on Ryan. Upon learning of his daughter’s involvement,
Randy remembered his feelings of being bullied and laughed at in school. He knew something needed to be done to
correct the problem and make an impression on his daughter. Randy was planning to take his 13-year-old
daughter shopping on Saturday for new clothes.
He decided to contact Richauna and ask if Ryan could go with he and his
daughter. His daughter soon found out
that the money her dad was planning to give her to shop would now be spent on
new clothes for Ryan instead. Smalls
stated, “I think that’s the perfect punishment because my daughter likes to
dress. So if they’re picking on a
student because of the dressing, then I take away from her and give it to
somebody else.” Randy’s daughter was not
pleased, but did eventually decide to help Ryan choose outfits. The more time the girls spent together, the
better the conversations. Smalls also
made a hair appointment for Ryan for that day.
He then told her he would be paying for hair appointments, each month,
to the end of the year. With Randy
Smalls’ daughter’s encouragement to her friends, the bullying stopped. Smalls concluded, “I believe as a parent, we
have to take responsibility for what our children do.
Katherine Hepburn tells the story of going to the circus with
her father when she was a teenager. It
finally came down to just one family in front of them in line, waiting to
purchase tickets. The family consisted
of a father, mother, and eight children
all under the age of 12. The children
were lined up, two by two, and holding hands.
From their excited chatter, it was obvious that this would be their
first time to see the circus. As the
father stepped up to the ticket booth, the lady asked how many tickets were
needed. The man proudly stated, “Two
adults and eight children.” When told
the cost, the man realized he didn’t have enough money. At that moment, Hepburn’s father reached in
his pocket, took out a $20 bill, dropped it on the ground, tapped the man on
the shoulder, and told him the money must have fallen out of his pocket. With a tear streaming down his face, the man
thanked Mr. Hepburn, realizing what he had done. After that, Katherine and her dad walked back
to the car and went home. The money that
had been given to the family was what would have purchased their own tickets to
the circus. Katherine remembered,
“Although we didn’t get to see the circus that night, we both felt a joy inside
us that was far greater than seeing the circus could ever provide. That day I learned the value to give. The importance of giving, blessing others can
never be over emphasized because there’s always joy in giving. Learn to make someone happy by acts of
giving.”
May we too experience the joy and value of giving from the
heart, especially when it is unexpected.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain
conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your
own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Philippians 2:3-4
Love is patient, love is kind.
1 Corinthians 13:4a
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly
loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience.
Colossians 3:12
