Most Amazing Gift

Something amazing happened to me last week. I haven't posted recently partly because my mom’s been in town the past few days (yay!), and also because I’ve been completely stunned.

I received a priority envelope in the mail last week. When I opened it up I found two little envelopes inside, one that said “Open me first please.” On the inside it had a beautiful quote about friendship and then “With deepest courage and love, your family,” with the names of eighteen people listed. I immediately started crying. I had no idea what was in the other envelope, but just seeing all those names there, knowing those people were all thinking of me, sending me their love and courage, well, I was overwhelmed.

Then I opened up the second envelope.

And that’s when I completely lost it. I haven’t bawled that hard in a long time. The second envelope was filled with checks. Unbeknownst to me, my friends put together a fundraiser since they found out about my setback, to help me cover the extra costs of recovery.

I’m still amazed. How do you say thank you for something like that? Thank you just doesn’t seem like enough.

It’s things like this that really make you feel less alone, that things are going to be okay, that there really is an abundance of love and kindness in the world.

One of the quotes written on the envelope was:

“When friendships are real, they are not glass threads, or frostwork, but the solidest things we know. A friend is the first person who comes in when the whole world has gone out.”

I love that. A friend is the first person who comes in when the whole world has gone out. It’s so true. Thank you to all of you for reaching out and helping me and letting me know you care.