Heart Warmers

Kristi Thomas and her family were spending their vacation in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The adventure for the first day was Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Museum. When the kids were participating in the interactive activities, their 13-year-old daughter put her phone down and forgot to retrieve it before leaving. About twenty minutes after they left, they realized the phone was gone. While returning to look for the iPhone, Kristi reminded her daughter of how much it would cost to purchase another phone, that she would be responsible to save up money to replace it, it would have made it easier to find if she had not turned off the find phone feature, and she couldn’t depend on people being honest and turning it in. Her daughter, who believes the best in people, kept saying she hoped someone turned it in. Approaching the main desk at Ripley’s Believe It or Not! again, they asked if the phone had been turned in and 3 staff members replied, “YES!” When given the phone, there were selfies of the teenager who had found the phone and turned it in. Kristi replied, “We were so thankful it was found. I want to thank this young man, from the bottom of my heart, for proving me wrong!!! And I especially want to thank his parents for raising him to be honest and kind, and to show amazing integrity at such a young age! YOU DID GOOD WITH THIS ONE!”

Austin Dennison, a 19-year-old senior, attends Parkway High School in Rockford, Ohio. He plays in the school band and is a member of the football, basketball, and baseball teams. Austin has achieved the rank of Scout and is also a volunteer fireman. Needless to say, he is well respected at school and in his community. Last week was the senior prom at the high school. After learning that his 89-year-old great grandma, Delores, had not been able to attend a prom when she was in in school, he came up with a plan. He asked Granny DD to be his date. She reminded Austin that after her heart attack and stroke she was not too good on her feet. The day of prom Austin took Granny DD to eat at Bob Evans, her favorite restaurant. Upon arriving at the prom, they had lots of pictures taken. The band played Frank Sinatra’s “Delores” for them to dance to and Austin’s peers gave them a standing ovation. Austin reminisced, “I respect my elders greatly. To be able to sit down and talk to them and learn from them and their experiences is a great thing.”

 

May our actions also continue to show love and respect to those we encounter.

 

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

1 John 3:18