Kindness begins with me

A couple of days ago, I was up part of the night due to all the calls on the radio. In case you don't know, I am an EMT and can often be found on the ambulance in the middle of the night. Sometimes, we are kept so busy that I forget what sleep is, and other times, it is quiet and I get to rest. This was one of those busy nights.

We got a call for a rollover accident, unknown injuries. On scene, there were three people who were traveling through our small town. No one was hurt, no one had to be transported to the hospital, but the car was pretty much totaled. It was certainly unable to drive away.

These three people were young adults.  They all had tatoos, ear-rings and piercings.  They were shook up a little and concerned about the car, but otherwise all was fine.  They went to the local motel and stayed overnight.  You should probably be aware that we live in a VERY small town.  There are not many restaurants and only a couple very small local grocery stores and a Circle K convenience store.

The next day, I went to the Circle K for a soda and these three young people were outside the store trying to get a ride down to the valley.  They had called one of the boy's moms and she had reserved plane tickets for them to go back to the State they live it.  The problem was, the airport is three hours away.  Because we live in a small town, there is no taxi service or bus service.  I found out from the store employees that the kids had been outside the store most of the morning and still had not found a ride.

One of the boys approached me and asked me if I was going to Phoenix.  I told him that I was not.  I than received a very strong prompting that I needed to offer to take them.  I tried to shove that feeling aside, but it would not go away.  So, I asked a few more questions and finally gave one of the boys my phone number and told him if they did not get a ride by 6:00 pm to call me and I would help them get to the valley.  I explained that I could not leave before than because I needed to take my daughter to Snowflake for her choir class.  We would be finished about 6:00 and would be home about 6:45.

When the young man told me thank you and told his friends what I would do for them, they were all so sincere in their appreciation and gratitude.  They did not seem to mind at all that they would need to wait several hours for me to come back and get them.  They could not believe that anyone would do that for them.  I went to get in my truck and again, the spirit whispered to my mind that what I was doing was not enough.  I really hate it when the spirit wants me to do something that is against everything I do on a normal basis to keep myself and my family safe.  I had a short argument with myself, got out of the truck and went and got those three young people.  I took them home.

I fed them, gave them a place to rest and was going to let them stay at my house until I got home.  My son, Josh came home then.  He is 20 years old.  For some odd reason, I had the feeling that I need to ask him if he would mind driving them down to the valley.  He did not mind at all.  They were so thankful and overwhelmed with our generosity that they had tears in their eyes as they were finally able to relax and not worry anymore.  Josh had to wait for my daughter Anya to come home so that he could take her over to a friends house for the afternoon.  That way, the group could leave for the valley by 3:00 pm and get down to the airport before dark.

The really unusual thing about all this (besides the fact that I never do things quite like this) is that when I brought the kids home, my husband was there just getting ready to go to work.  He had exactly the same impressions that I did.  We were both given to know that this was the right thing to do.  We may never find out exactly why it was so important, but I am convinced that it was necessary.

Everything turned out fine.  The kids all went to Phoenix to the airport.  They were kind and gracious the entire trip.  Josh had a good drive and even went over to his Mom's house to stay with her for the evening.  It was the evening before his birthday and he was so happy to be able to spend part of his birthday with his mom and sister.  

One of my favorite old-time (meaning I think I sang this when I was a little girl) primary songs goes like this,

"I want to be kind to everyone,

For that is right you see.

So I say to myself:  Remember this,

Kindness begins with me".  

Words and music by Klara W. McMaster

The dictionary defines "Kindness" as:  Kindness is the act or the state of being kind and marked by charitable behaviour, marked by mild disposition, pleasantness, tenderness and concern for others. It is a recognized value in many cultures and religions".

I sometimes think that we need to make a little extra effort to be kind to others.  We live in a world where everything is fast moving and independent.  We don't take the time to go visit, or call, or write anymore.  The young people don't even use the telephone.  They use text messaging and instant messenger services.  If we are not kind to others, than how can we expect our children to be kind.

If we started each day by being a little more kind, how much happier would we be?   And if we could live our lives with kindness and gratitude, how many more blessings could we bring into the lives of others?  I have found that you can not do something good for someone else without having the kindness rub back onto you.  I don't know about you, but if I had to choose between spreading fear or kindness, I hope that kindness would win, for each one of us.  

President Hinckley once said, "Why do any of us have to be so mean and unkind to others?  Why can't all of us reach out in friendship to everyone about us?  There is no end to the good we can do, to the influence we can have with others. Let us not dwell on the critical or the negative. Let us pray for strength; let us pray for capacity and desire to assist others. Let us radiate the light of the gospel at all times and all places, that the Spirit of the Redeemer may radiate from us.
In the words of the Lord to Joshua, “be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God [will be] with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Josh. 1:9).
(May 2006, Ensign, The Need For Greater Kindness)

Before I end this blog post, I had better offer a disclaimer.  I do not advocate anyone else making the choice that I did a couple of days ago.  I  am very glad that I helped, but would not normally help in quite this way unless I had the confirmation from the spirit that it was the right thing to do.  I can only say, in my own defense, that the spirit told me so strongly to do it, that I could not do otherwise.