Reece Gardner: We often overlook the good

It seems that every day we are reminded of the evil in our world, so much so that we might overlook the goodness all around us. In that spirit, I decided to look for some acts of kindness on display, and I found that they are in abundance.

Here are five of them:

(1) A total stranger, Darin Gruberg, read Kevin Campbell's media report about needing a kidney transplant. He was so touched by Kevin's story that he decided to donate his kidney, and he flew to the hospital for the procedure, which saved Kevin's life;

(2) An elderly lady gave a generous tip to a waiter, along with this note: "This tip was given because you reminded me of my son, Devon, who died 15 years ago. You look a little like him, but it was your kind, gentle spirit that made the connection. Thanks for the sweet memory, and God bless you;

(3) I saw a news release recently of a man jumping into swirling water to rescue a child's small puppy that had fallen in and was about to drown. This man did not even know the child;; ;

(4) There was also a picture this week of a very generous man in Rio De Janeiro taking off his sandals and giving them to a poor, homeless person on the street;

(5) A clerk in a small toy store shared this experience. He said it was Christmas and a little girl, probably 5 years old, and her mother were looking around.

The little girl was making a "Wish" list of toys in the store. The mom said, "I know you would like to have several things here, but just remember you can only get one thing on the list because that's all I can afford."

The little girl was totally understanding and said, "I don't really need any of them, Mommy." Then the clerk said, "After the little girl and her mom left, an elderly gentleman in the store paid for every single item on the little girl's list, and asked that I contact them the next day and give them the good news. I did that, and the mother came in excited and relieved to pick up the toys for her little girl. She left a note written by her daughter to give to the kind gentleman should he come back in."

The clerk added that months passed, and the man never returned.

He finally decided to read the girl's note, which said: "I know I was visited by an Angel yesterday, and I will always be thankful to God for sending you my way." Folks, as you know, these are just a small sampling of the MANY acts of kindness that occur every day. Let's all SHARE a little kindness today and help make this world a more wonderful place in which to live!

Now for a little humor: There was once a Viking who became such a powerful warrior that he decided to take on a new challenge. The Viking sailed across Europe challenging people to staring contests. He was so confident in his new-found abilities that he promised to hand over all his gold to anyone who could defeat him. The news spread throughout Europe, catching the attention of a couple in Ireland whose daughter had been born without eyelids.

Believing that their daughter was guaranteed to win in a staring contest, the couple sent a messenger to invite the Viking to Ireland to face off against her. He gladly accepted the challenge, setting sail the next day. The Viking eventually arrived at the home, where he and the daughter began their staring contest, which lasted for hours.

Two days passed and the Viking's eyes remained wide open. At this point, the girl was so exhausted that she decided to forfeit the match, losing by default. Her parents were baffled. The wife asked her husband, "How could he have kept his eyes open for so long, even against someone with no eyelids?" With no good explanation, the husband shrugged and responded, "You can lead a Norse to Daughter, but you can't make him blink!"

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!