I’ve been thinking it’s about time to retire this kindness column. I’ve been feeling busy lately. Really busy.
Diva Connection is taking off (thank you, God), and that means more meetings, more trouble shooting, and more time making sure women in our community who need something connect with the women who can help them.
I started thinking that something in my life has to go. I need to unload some responsibilities, create more hours in the day and become a better planner. I can only do two out of those three things, so I figured after a year of writing about kindness, it may be time to let it go. People either get the fact that being kind feels good and changes our world or they don’t. Perhaps there is nothing else I can say about it. Perhaps there are no more stories to share.
Then something happened.
I had the opportunity this week to meet a woman who has fallen on really tough times. About a month ago, she and her fiancé moved to this area from Texas. They planned on living with a friend in North Dakota until they could find their own place.
According to this woman, her fiancé didn’t tell her the whole story. He was having an online affair with her friend and wanted to meet his new love interest in person. Long story short, the young woman I met ended up being heart-broken, penniless and desperate to go home.
She just needed to find someone who could afford to buy her a bus ticket back to Texas.
I am blessed. I have a family and friends who would walk through fire to help me in a desperate time. I have come to realize that not everyone is as lucky.
So, I bought the woman a bus ticket.
The problem was I needed to tell my husband that I had just spent his hard-earned money on someone we don’t even know.
My husband often says he adores the “glory and splendor that is the mystery of his wife.” He wasn’t thrilled that I had made the decision to spend our money the way I did, but he understood that sometimes he just doesn’t understand me. He gave me a big hug and made me promise to put together a budget for giving – and to stick to it.
I believe people should give others their time, talent and treasure. I volunteer three days a week as the executive director of Diva Connection Foundation. According to my husband, I give financially until it hurts. So what’s left? My talent.
When I reflected this week on my experience with that woman from Texas, I realized that I have to keep writing this kindness column as long as The Forum will let me. It is a privilege to have a voice for something. And I believe that my voice was created to remind people that kindness can change this world.
So, there will still be 24 hours in my day, just like in yours. I will still be busy and overwhelmed at times. But when I lay in bed at night, maybe I can rest easy knowing that my 24 hours were well spent. I hope yours are too.
Please continue to share your stories of kindness with me at nphillips15@hotmail.com. Or send a letter to Kindness is Contagious c/o Nicole Phillips, The Forum, 101 5th St. N., Box 2020, Fargo, ND, 58107.
Nicole Phillips is a former television anchor for Fox News in Fargo, and currently the Executive Director of Diva Connection Foundation. She is the mother of three kids and the wife of Bison Men’s Head Basketball Coach Saul Phillips. Her columns run every Saturday.
