The week of my event I answered my front door to find a sweet little toddler standing there holding a pizza with a card clutched tightly in his tiny hand. As he and his mother entered the door, he immediately ripped open the card as he excitedly announced that he sold pizzas for me. The 5, one hundred dollar bills that fell to the floor were unmatched by the obvious joy that this little one felt at doing something for this woman he had just a minute before met. Two years old and his mother had already taught him that service is full of love, excitement, and unadulterated joy. 
The night before my event a young girl came to my door with 114 cupcakes she had spent the entire day making. As we talked about my event and the upcoming ones, she extracted a promise from me that I would let her help with those who follow me. She too had the vision of what it meant to spend her time and energy on something even bigger than what she knew it to be. At a young age, she saw an opportunity to do something for someone else and she took it.
Not sure how to begin to describe the two young men who have touched my heart in such a profound way that I struggle to contain the emotion when their faces flit through my mind's eye.
Tyler, who came to the event, became ill, went home to take some medicine, and returned to be there. As I introduced him and acknowledged the goodness of his heart, he turned his head into my shoulder and began to cry. Tyler is 14 and cancer is ravaging his young body. The love I felt from such a young person battling such a deadly battle is now permanently etched in my heart. Follow Tyler's story at http://fight2thefinish.com/todays-tender-mercy/
Then there is my sweet Dylan who is the 9 yr old son of one of my 'other daughters' who is fighting a losing battle with brain cancer. His time here on this earth is short and he seems determined to fill it helping others in spite of his physical limitations and ailments. Dylan was there at the event, money in hand to contribute. Dylan won a raffle item...a large stuffed animal and when his name was read as the winner, I couldn't have been happier. That happiness quickly turned to tender awe as I watched him being pushed in his wheelchair to Samantha...a little 6 yr old also battling cancer. Without hesitation, he gave her his winnings and watched as she hugged it close. He returned home and spent the next week putting together a lemonade stand and bake sale to make money for his new friend Tyler. He was successful beyond measure. Love always prevails...even if it is for someone you just met. Dylan's life is the ultimate measure of that. http://www.dylandshaw.blogspot.com/
So when I say that my event was a success...this is what I am referring to. These are children whose hearts have been changed through a challenge that as adults, we run from. The world has not yet taught them to run from their fear and anguish so they embrace it with the purest forms of service and love. They have taught me so much about love by the innocence through which they give to others in the midst of their own fight to survive. What a wonderful word this could be if we could all return to that place of innocence that allows us to forget ourselves, love more freely, and share who we are with those around us. Through the eyes of children, I am reminded how simple life can be...even in the wake of a storm, when we reach out to others. As a result, the winds have quieted, the storm subsided and my hope renewed. How does one adequately express gratitude for that?
Never underestimate the power of the simple acts of kindness we all hold in our hearts.
Gratidue and love always....Cyndi
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