The news these days is often depressing at worst and frustrating at best. It’s easy to let it get us down. Never fear… The News Blender has you covered. Once a week we feature Something Good and, in return, all you have to do is tell us something good that has happened to you this week, something you are thankful for, a joke, a cute animal story, an inspiring tale of heroics, a Random Act of Kindness… SOMETHING good.
Today’s Something Good is being a little candle in the darkness.
Dallan Harrell, a UPS driver, was delivering packages in Roswell, Georgia earlier this month when he proved how a small act of kindness can have far reaching effects.
He recalled seeing a sign announcing the birth of a baby boy at the home where Jessica Kitchel, her husband Mack, and daughter Charlie live. After dropping off a package on the Kitchel’s porch, he left a short message on their door camera.
“If this is a ‘it’s a boy’ house, I hope all is going well with your newborn. I had a child at around the same time you guys did, I just hope everything is going good, God bless, and Happy Holidays,” he said.
Although it was a brief message, just a few seconds long, it meant a great deal to Jessica, who was feeling isolated and overwhelmed with her new born son, Chancy, according to CBS46. She was so appreciative of Dallan’s message she posted it Instagram, expressing a hope that she could find out who he was and that she would have diapers for him if she did discover his name.
With the help of social media, Jessica DID find out the name of the man who took a few second of his day to encourage her, just when she needed it. When the two met a few days later, she had a chance to thank him. During that visit, Jessica discovered Dallan and his fiancé never had a baby shower before their son was born.
She asked if the couple had a baby registry and shared it online. Soon, the couple was gifted everything they needed for their boy, from people he didn’t even know.
Dallan told CBS46, “Complete strangers. I wouldn’t know them from a can of paint. Just God’s vessels.”
To make the situation even better, Dallan got a promotion at work about this time. He says his life kind of “turned around and changed overnight.”
A friendship between the Kitchens and Dallan’s family was formed on a 20 second video message. Dallan said, “I don’t want it to be a one-time deal. Not a season, for sure, a lifetime.”
“It’s so easy right now to focus on what isn’t going right and the fact that we all got to see somebody just take a second in their day and show an easy act of kindness, that really meant a lot,” Jessica said.
This story is one of those reminders of how very easy it is to be kind and how, though not required or even expected, kindness has a way of flowing back to the giver.
Now it’s your turn… Tell me something good.
