It was a beautiful warm, sunny Florida Saturday afternoon, one reining in the beginning of Spring 2021. I took the opportunity to enjoy it as I do best, by taking a trip to the beach.
While there I found a lone spot (or so I thought) and as I got lost in thought gazing into the horizon and admiring the now approaching beautiful sunset, I was startled by a soft sweet voice “Miss I’d like for you to have this” - bewildered I stared into her sparkling eyes and watched as she stretched her arm to hand me a tiny ribbed seashell. I stretched my palm out and she gently placed the treasure there, and as suddenly as she appeared she turned and ran off. As I watched her go, I saw an adult and another child waiting for her in the distance.
For moments I held the precious piece in my palm, thinking ‘what just happened?!’
Well...what had happened was….this sweet soul thought she would reach out to someone she thought was possibly lonely, in a show of empathy and care. She my friend, was being HIP #BeHIP, as she humbly, intentionally and preparedly decided to reach out and touch a heart.
This gesture made me become introspective, trying to recall if/how I have ever been HIP, in reaching out and touching lives, hearts and souls. Truth is I may never know, but the important thing is to, just do!
Reach out and touch...call, pray, send a note, a card and if near enough...Share a shell.
In the book ‘Living a HIP life - the story of a Mother as told by a Daughter’ it speaks to the HIP nature of a mother and just how fulfilling acts of kindness can be.
“In Mom’s eyes, we are all God’s creation and our responsibility as Christians is to prayerfully serve, care for and give our time and resources to those in need. To that end, she was selfless and would often put the welfare of others before her own. For Mom, no one was too mentally, physically, spiritually or socio-economically challenged for her not to want to reach out.”
There is no time like the present….reach out and give a shell!
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