Monday Morning Motivation

Sometimes you just don’t know how you impact someone’s life.

The work of your nonprofit is important.  Don’t forget that.  You never know when a kind word, a smile, or a warm handshake is just what someone needs.

Recently, my daughter had a friend over for dinner.  This is actually pretty common – we have various teenagers at our house on a regular basis.  As we were setting the table and giggling, this young girl confessed that she was really nervous the first time she had dinner with us a week or so before.  “Why?” I asked her.  She said she had never had a “sit-down” dinner before and wasn’t sure what to expect.

I was stunned.  As we talked, I learned that her homelife was much less than ideal, and learned what a positive impact our family had been on her.  The amazing thing to me was that we were just being ourselves.

I can think of lots of times that I’ve volunteered at soup kitchens or given away food baskets and been thanked profusely by the people on the receiving end.

This time of year, use every chance you get to spread the warmth of the season in your actions, your words, and your smile.