We had so much fun meeting Kelly’s friends and walked away with many new friends of our own … truly special angels. Jennifer stole our hearts. She is in a wheelchair, has slightly slurred speech with her eyes not being able to focus straight ahead but she is so smart! The kindness and love within her well let’s just say that I wish the world was filled with Jennifers! Brandon is incredible. He is, I believe, 17 and has Down Syndrome and loves the Cubs. He kept tapping Ty on the knee saying, “right guy?” smiling and laughing so much it was contagious. Then there was Michelle, Kelly’s roommate, who is down-right hysterical. She also has Down Syndrome so her heart flows of love and happiness but also with a twist of sarcastic humor. She had us in stitches not to mention she kept staring at Ty because “she likes the boys” so they say. Then there is Robert who is probably the biggest Elvis fan I’ve ever met! His room is filled with full size Elvis cut-outs, posters, pillows, blankets, CDs, etc. and a wall full of medals from the Special Olympics. He also has Down Syndrome and I was honored when he was telling me he has a few girlfriends special to him and now I am one of them too. These are the special gifts in life, you know?

Towards the end of our visit Jennifer showed Samantha her room and I stayed out in the main area visiting with Brandon and Kelly. They then came back and Samantha said, “Mommy, do you want to see Jennifer’s room?” I said, “Absolutely!” I followed Jennifer as she rolled herself thru the turns in the hallway as if it was nothing to maneuver that wheelchair. She began showing me some things on her bookshelf. I noticed one of the girls had followed us into her room. I had seen her lying on the couch but staying to herself the whole time that we were there. She then began to slowly come towards me a little at a time until she was standing right in front of me. Jennifer then told me that she was deaf and blind. The girl reached out her hand to me. I took her hand in mine and my heart shouted loudly, “hug her!!!” So I hugged her with a big hug holding her for a minute. When I stepped back, she placed her hand directly on my heart. I saw a peace come over her face and love was felt in the room at a dimension that I cannot describe in words. Tears formed in my eyes when I realized what had just happened … without me saying a single word, she felt who God made me to be thru my heart. It’s what drew her near me and what allowed her to perfectly place her hand directly on my heart without being able to see and without someone having to guide her to where it was. Another simple truth – this my friends is exactly how we need to live. We need to live so that others can feel us thru the heart of who we are without a single word or a single touch.

Sunday forever changed the kids and my lives because that day we were all touched by an angel, actually by many! Our hearts will never be the same and I am so very thankful! May you live so that your heart can be felt because it has “Something to Say”. (If you haven’t ever heard the song “Something to Say” by Matthew West I recommend listening to it or looking up the lyrics. That song just dropped in my heart earlier today and when I just listened to the lyrics I about fell off my chair because it sums up this entire blog :) God is awesome!

With Much Love,

Sandi Rauwolf

Here’s the clip he’s talking about (Warning: clip is from You Tube so I did not create it thus could not edit – it includes adult language at the end of the clip, view at your own discretion):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Rq50NFgCc

My heart then talked to me a little louder and the realization settled in … it really is up to us. We can choose to do something about it. And “the something about it” isn’t about religion, it isn’t about skin color, and it certainly isn’t about social status. It’s about the condition of our hearts. See if we each decide to have our hearts changed and learn to live true unconditional love in all we do, we would live in a different world one that I have imagined living in since the time I was little. When we act in love thinking of others before ourselves, when we ensure our actions are kind, sincere, caring and considerate, when we give of our time to help others even in the little things we do … like going out of the way to open a door or help someone pick up something they dropped – we are making a difference. It brings a peace and joy that all the money in the world couldn’t buy. Give from your heart whether it is sharing a smile or being able to buy a meal for someone who can’t afford one – when we do those things from our heart, we are one person in this huge world making a difference.

I encourage you to keep the Spirit of Love going, every day. Go and do a random act of love for someone else after the holiday. Commit to doing something once a week or if that is too much start out once a month. Every day before my kids walk out the door, I give them a hug and kiss, tell them I love them and (both of them will tell you) I always say, “Do something kind for someone else.” I promise you the gift you receive for giving love from your heart to others is priceless. If you want some ideas of sharing kindness (or if you want to download a free note card – example, let’s say you decide to make a meal for someone unexpectedly, you can download the card, write a note and not only does it touch someone’s heart but the print on the back encourages them to keep the love going by doing something nice for another), go to www.inthespiritoflove.org. Please know that making a difference starts with “one”, will you join us?

Have a very blessed holiday season to you and your family!

With much Love,

Sandi Rauwolf

As soon as the candy cane touched my lips, another wonderful memory overflowed my heart of those special moments I have been blessed with through the holidays. Growing up we didn’t have much compared to others but we had two parents who loved us unconditionally and who instilled within each of us – hearts overflowing with thankfulness for what we DID have. We were reminded to be thankful for even those yucky green beans in front of us (well we thought they were yucky at the time). My Dad would always remind us that there are many people in the world who don’t have a single morsel of food to eat or even a pair of shoes or a clean pair of socks to wear. We were always told that NO MATTER WHAT, we were loved and we were often reminded of that after we had made a mistake. So although the consequences were harsh, we were taught to learn from those mistakes and to know that we were still loved – unconditionally. It was important we understood that it was our decision/behavior that was bad and not who we were that was bad. (See if we associate that behavior with ourselves then our self esteem is down, we feel unworthy of anything because we can’t get rid of ourselves but we can get rid of the bad behavior.) So although the candy cane taste triggered wonderful memories, it isn’t the tangible things I remember but the love and joy I felt through those times – true unconditional love. What incredible treasures they are deep within my heart.

This year if you are facing a holiday where you don’t have funds to purchase gifts or to financially help others, please remember that love and joy are FREE and everything you do in life is building a memory for someone else – give freely of your heart, of your time … share love and joy with others, it’s the best gift you could ever give to someone.

With much love, peace and joy from my heart to each of yours – go out and make a difference in someone’s life today by being the beautiful person God made you to be and making a wonderful new memory within their heart and yours. What’s your “candy cane” memory? I want to encourage you to share one thru the “comments” link at the bottom of my blog. Your “candy cane” memory may inspire another … it’s the little things we do that make all the difference.

Love to you all!

Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good

The thing that touched our hearts the most is what we have seen in our little girl. Over the last week she has been the happiest we have ever seen her. She is constantly smiling, singing – just so joyful! It’s amazing and as if a whole new world has opened up for her. As I stand watching her almost float around the house without a single worry in the world, I couldn’t help but smile and bask in the happy, joyfulness of our little angel. I found my heart overflowing in her delight because I love her so much. As I was enjoying that special moment I felt as if God gently whispered to me, “that is how I feel when my children are filled with joyfulness”. And I sat there thinking about what a loving God we have and how much He does want us to experience joy in all. I felt as if at that very moment God was standing there with me smiling at this precious little angel filling the room with peace and love. What a tremendous gift to me on such a stressful day that seemed to suck the life right out of me!

It’s amazing how our attitudes affect the world isn’t it? How many times do we have something going on in our lives that let’s just say causes us to fall short of filling a room with peace and love? Life in this world can be so demanding, so exhausting, and so stressful! It can dangerously cause our hearts to be calloused (emotionally hardened).

Matthew 13:15 “For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them”.

When our hearts harden, we are no longer open to what God is trying to do in our lives or others. Suddenly we can hardly hear God’s voice although He is speaking to us loud and clear (just like I described in my last blog when Samantha’s ears were filled with fluid). When life robs us of that peace and joy, how effective are we when God sends someone into our path?

What do I mean by that? Well, there are no coincidences with God – things don’t “just” happen. It’s not a matter of luck or being in the right place at the right time. If someone crosses our path we need to be open to what God may be doing – whose life He may be trying to touch. A concept I failed to understand for so long is that each of us has a role, a very specific purpose here. Long before we even realize that purpose, we have unknowingly touched many lives that have crossed our paths. I was in a particular season in my life many years ago where I didn’t grasp this concept. I didn’t think I made a difference in a single life but God taught me otherwise. We have touched another life with something as simple as a smile or letting someone step ahead of us in line at the grocery store. That smile, that simple act of kindness God may have used to completely change the path that person was on that day – just like God did for me watching Samantha fill the room with peace and love. I know personally when I let life rob me of God’s peace and joy I certainly am in no mood to help anyone nor do I want to be helped – this is the true danger of a hardened heart!

But God understands this – that is why He has given us a way to peace, joy and eternal life. When we seek worldly things to fill us with peace and joy we may experience joy for a moment or two but it is short-lived. We are left feeling empty again, feeling lost. But thru those failures, thru that emptiness we find that those adversities cause us to seek something bigger … to discover the true meaning of life! To discover Him! Once we welcome Him into our hearts and begin our walk with Him – nothing, not even the grave can rob us of that joy because He is now with us (Psalm 16:9-11) He begins to change us and as we mature in our spiritual walk it is amazing the things we can see, hear and how He changes our hearts. We truly can find joy in ALL. We can be kind and loving, effective and productive (2 Peter 1:1-11) even in our weakness. As Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 12:10 in our weakness, we find strength.

We never know who may be coming into our paths … whose life God may be trying to reach thru us. Often thru those interactions God brings us a very special gift like the story of the old Fisherman (I share below – thank you Faye :).

May God bless each of you and fill your life with peace, joy and a true understanding of life … the life He wants for each of us and that is eternal life with Him thru His son Jesus Christ (John 3:16). God bless!

Love,

Sandi :)

THE OLD FISHERMAN

Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out-patients at the Clinic.

One summer evening as I was preparing supper, there was a knock at the door I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. ‘Why, he’s hardly taller than my eight-year-old,’ I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body.

But the appalling thing was his face, lopsided from swelling, red and raw Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, ‘Good evening. I’ve come to see if you’ve a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there’s no bus ’till morning.’

He told me he’d been hunting for a room since noon but with no success; no one seemed to have a room. ‘I guess it’s my face. I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments…’

For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: ‘I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning.’ I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. ‘No thank you. I have plenty’ And he held up a brown paper bag.

When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn’t take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.

He didn’t tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence was prefaced with thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going.

At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children’s room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded, and the little man was out on the porch. He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, ‘Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won’t put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair.’ He paused a moment and then added, ‘Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don’t seem to mind.’ I told him he was welcome to come again.

And on his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen. He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they’d be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4 a.m., and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.

In the years he came to stay overnight with us there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden. Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious.

When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning. ‘Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!’

Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice But oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illness would have been easier to bear. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.

- Author Unknown