A Heart-felt Thanks
“Could you use a mattress?” The voice on the phone was a bit hesitant. “I saw on Facebook where you took donations, and was wondering if you wanted a mattress,” asked the lady.
“Oh, yes,” I said. We have had an unusually heavy stream of clients asking for beds and mattresses. “Perfect timing,” I exclaimed.
“It’s a nice one,” she continued. “It is a few years old but in perfect shape, has been covered up with a plastic cover and all.”
I took her information and address so that we could pick up her donation. Linda explained that her 11- year-old daughter, Christina, had been in an auto accident a few months earlier. The girl has been in rehab for a while and recovery has been a struggle. A neighbor, who knew of the child’s condition, purchased a new mattress in hopes of alleviating some of her pain.
“I just couldn’t throw it out,” Linda continued a bit faster. “I know people need things like this. I know because we needed help and you helped us. My daughter was an angel tree recipient this year. She was really taken with all of the things that she got.”
Linda took a moment to tell about her daughter’s packages and share how tickled she had been with all the gifts. “I was wondering,” the hesitation returned to her voice. “I was wondering if it would be OK to send you a thank you note that my daughter has written? She was just overwhelmed with her presents and sat down and made a card for her ‘Christmas Angel.’”
I welcomed the note, and thanked her again for her kindness. She would leave it with the mattress.
Today, I found an envelope on my desk. Tucked inside was a handmade card with a big “thank you” and heart that had been colored in with a crayon on the front. Little hugs and kisses symbols adorned the corners. Inside it read:
“Dear Christmas Angel,
I am the 11-year-old girl you bought gifts for. I am indeed very happy for all the gifts you gave to me. They were perfect. All the clothes fit amazing and the board games and other accessories were very amazing. I appreciate everything and very proud that someone would go out and give things to someone you do not even know out of the kindness in your heart. This is why am writing this letter because I feel if you someone did that for me, I am glad to write a letter to you. I hope we meet someday.
Love, Christina.”
Indeed, the gifts that we share with others do not go unnoticed, even by the youngest recipients... And the blessings we receive are always more wonderful.
