Monthly Inspiration

Inspiration, Reflections

I plan to continue my Monthly Inspiration posts this year but in the absence of a 2023 calendar (I plan to buy one this week.) I decided to share some stories that I have found both heartwarming and inspirational.

This first story is one that I read several weeks ago – a potential tragedy with a happy ending. After a plane traveling from Louisiana with 53 dogs crashed on a golf course in Wisconsin, some of the first responders who came to the rescue gave the furry passengers their forever homes. Click here for full story. Perhaps it’s because I know the impact that adopting rescue animals can have on one’s life that this story touched me so. What an incredible gift to both the rescuer and their new furry friend!

If the first story wasn’t enough to give you hope in humanity, this one certainly will. The headline, Heroic actions of ‘Amazing Jay’ who saved 24 people and 2 dogs from deadly cold is the story America needs, tells only part of the story. Read the full story here. I experienced a mix of emotions while reading this. I don’t know what kind of people would turn away someone who was stranded in this killer storm, but I found myself being thankful that they did. What a blessing he was to others in need!

The last story is about a lady in our area who turned 100 years old on Christmas Day. While I have never met Verna, she is a longtime friend of my sister and her family. This very brief news clip tells a bit about the community birthday celebration that was thrown for her. After hearing firsthand accounts of the party from my sister I was disappointed that the clip did not show any of the presentations made by community leaders, commending Verna’s contributions to the community, nor did it show the school children presenting her with the 100+ birthday cards. (My sister told me yesterday that birthday cards were still coming from around the world. :)) I was also disappointed that the reporter spent so little time speaking with Verna, but in the end, I think that these two lines, spoken by Verna, “Just happy that I can do for other people, rather than do for myself. And, if I can serve and do for other people, that’s what I’d like,” may be all we need to know to give us the secret to a good and happy, if not long, life.

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and all the best in 2023.

17 thoughts on “Monthly Inspiration”

  3. Just a little insight to Verna’s birthday video. I think the reporter did a fabulous job. He did capture our state representative Jeff Yaroch presenting a wonderful certificate that his office put a great deal of information on Verna’s life and one of the girls that presented her with cards is also posing with her in the video. These aren’t obvious if you didn’t already know. He also captured Verna’s family picture and a very special moment when she recognized Ashley. When he interviewed Verna . He sat with her quite some time after he set his microphone down. And I think she interviewed him as well. She told me where he got his degree and what town he lives in a the name of a family they both know. It was an incredible moment to be a part of and probably very much for this young reporter.
    I can’t wait to read through your other stories.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thanks for keeping me straight. I’m sure it was heavily edited but for me the clip moved so quick that I missed some of that and would not have known that was the state representative and what he was presenting. I did love seeing the precious moment with Ashley and did find Verna’s words about helping/serving others truly inspiring. ❤

      Like

      Reply

      1. It did move fast and you wouldn’t know if you only saw the video. And you may have met Verna several years ago. She went to Kathy’s with us. I think Thanksgiving. But I know you know who Ivan is.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Well then I probably did meet her – she would probably remember better than I. LOL! I do remember Ivan from when he worked maintenance here in the park and I met Roger when we all went to the museum.

        Like

    1. I’m surprised I never met her either. Did Jamie tell you she was out shoveling snow in that blizzard Friday morning. Having lived through so much it seems like it was just another snowstorm – no big deal to her.❤

      Like

      Reply

      1. Jamie did tell me and I’m sure you are right . Verna would never ask someone to do something for her that she can do herself. She is an inspiration

        Liked by 1 person

I would love to hear from you.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s