When You Have a Good Heart

“When you have a good heart it comes back just when you need it.”
- Judith Rasoletti

When You Have a Good Heart

My friend Steve Farley spent the morning working in his yard. He has a very large yard and it’s a lot of work. Just the fence maintenance alone is enough to send shivers down my spine. I say that because I know he has to have a lot of fence to fix because he has goats.

Goats eat just about everything and they also seem to climb up just about anything. I’ve seen them seemingly walk straight up a fence without breaking a sweat! They just get in to a lot of trouble. Steve doesn’t mind though I guess, because he has quite a few goats.

He also keeps a few hives of bees. He was telling me once that “after a while you get used to being stung.” Sorry Steve, I don’t think I would ever get used to it!

I have gotten used to the sweet taste of the exceptional honey he harvests from his beehives. Whenever he’s kind enough to share some with us my whole family gets a greedy look in their eyes the minute it hits the inside of our house. I love the way my girls act calm and proper as he’s giving it to us and then change instantly as soon as they know it’s safe to devour it!

Lots of things change instantly in a person’s life and Steve is no exception. After working in his yard for the morning he still had the energy to work out! He works out like a demon on steroids so he’s in good shape. He’s in real good shape considering the fact that he had his hips replaced a few years ago. I guess he just keeps on moving.

Well, after working out he did just that. He kept moving and went on a walk with a couple of his kids. Then his back started to hurt so he came back in the house to rest.

When the pain in his back became unbearable his wife took him to the hospital where they began to work on controlling the pain. They thought he had pinched a nerve in his back due to his activity so they were monitoring him as if he wasn’t in a life threatening situation.

His wife was there with him when he looked at her and said, “Something’s wrong.”

She stepped out of the room to find someone and when they came back in just moments later he was flat lining!

As it turns out, he did not have a pinched nerve in his back. He had a problem with his heart! And, once the doctors knew that they changed their treatment immediately.

Somehow blood had begun to pool and clot inside one of the chambers of his heart and when a clot began to be pumped out of the chamber it clogged the valve and very little blood, if anything could get through. So, the doctors dissolved the clot and things got better quickly.

To the casual observer it would appear as if Steve has a bad heart. I guess you could say that’s true. But, I know that’s not really the case. I know he has a good heart. How do I know?
I know because anyone who can love a herd of goats has to have a good heart. You know I’m just joking! I know because I watch what he does around my neighborhood. He’s known as the “person with a good heart” because of all of the kindness he shows to everyone.

Kind of interesting to know that about him now isn’t it?

Of course you know I’m talking about a different kind of heart here. But, it’s just as important as the organ we’ve been talking about. People with good hearts make our communities great places to live. You can always tell what kind of contribution someone’s making by what people say when misfortune occurs.

That’s the way it was with Steve. Everywhere I’ve gone, everyone I‘ve spoken with has asked me about his health and if he is going to be alright. They’ve also started to come to help with meals and mundane things such as yard work.

With all this going on around me you can see why I took what Judith Rasoletti said to heart. She knows what she’s talking about. After all, she came here on vacation and loved it so much she packed up her life in Miami and moved here. I love the way she has opened her heart to make such a difference here.

She’s made such a difference here that others have stepped up to help her just when she really needed the help. It’s a beautiful thing when the help comes and it is recognized as a blessing by the receiver!

I know you may be having your struggles right now just like my friends Steve and Judith. But, if there is one thing I know for sure it’s that good things will happen for you right when you need them to. I’ve seen it too many times to deny it. So, start to look for the good to begin to come and you’ll see it; but make sure you’re open to receiving the goodness in ways you haven’t anticipated. That’s what will make it truly miraculous!

“It may be a blessing in disguise”
- Annie Butterfield

Swimming Against the Tide

Have you ever had your eye fixed on a goal only to find that things haven’t worked out the way you wanted them to? Have you ever struggled with creating an outcome you wanted, only to find that nothing you can do will cause it to come into being? I call it “swimming against the tide.”

I don’t know if you’ve ever had experience swimming in the ocean or not. I haven’t had a lot of ocean swimming experience so I don’t know a lot about it, but I had heard about a phenomenon called a rip tide and I had seen signs on the beach warning of rip tide conditions. But that didn’t prepare me for an experience with one.

When I was in college some friends and I decided to travel to Mexico for spring break. We went to Acapulco to spend time in the sand and warm ocean air. It was a wonderful break from the snow, cold and wind we were experiencing at the University of Utah.

There were four of us on this adventure and we were drinking in the sunshine. We found some new friends and spent our days and nights drowning in the moment. It was a trip to remember!

One day we went to out of town to the Princess Hotel to be with some new friends. The hotel had a great beach and we took advantage of it. I love to swim so I went out to body surf with my buddies. Out and in we went. The waves were like music. The sky was as deep as the ocean. It was one of those days where the crowd of people added to the experience. It wouldn’t have been as fun without lots of people there to share with.

I was always with friends until one moment when I noticed that everyone became distant from me in what seemed to be an instant. I’m a strong swimmer and didn’t give it a second thought. I could see the beach so all I had to do was to swim in!

The harder I swam, the further away I got. In a few minutes I became tired and a little frightened. I couldn’t understand what was happening. All I knew was that the beach was getting farther and farther away despite my best efforts.

Just at the moment of despair I noticed a young man swimming next to me. He was clearly a “local” and he began to talk with me.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“Yes.” I said.

I was not completely honest!

He just looked at me and said, “Follow me.”

I did follow him and to my surprise he didn’t head directly to the beach. He headed to our right.
Soon, the ocean became my friend again as it began to gently push us to the beach in a constant, encouraging motion. I relaxed. We arrived on the beach where we were greeted by my friends.
We stood on the beach and my young rescuer pointed to a brown stripe in the water. It was a different color than the water we had just glided through. He said, “You were caught in a rip tide. You could not have made it back fighting the strength of the ocean.”

In a moment he was gone. I don’t know who he was. I do know that he was more experienced than I!

It is impossible for any one of us to know everything there is to know. It is impossible for any one of us to have all the experience we need. So, it’s a good thing we know each other.
My friend Judith Rasoletti and I had a wonderful talk this week. She had been swimming against the tide in her life. She knew the water around her was brown and dark. She didn’t know what direction to swim in to make it back to safety.

“I was looking for office space and read a small ad,” she said.

“Now my business is doing well and is growing. I am with a great group of people that are helping me.”

She is swimming with the tide again. The strength of the ocean is gently pushing her toward her beach and she is gliding with confidence. All it took was a small change in direction.

I know I’m not always able to see the color of the water around me without help and sometimes it seems as if the right direction is the wrong direction. It is at those times I listen to my daughter Annie’s words, “It could be a blessing in disguise.”

At those times I also hear Judith’s words, “We can’t do it without each other. In times like these the real blessing is to have lots of friends to help us.”

You have valuable experience. Share it with everyone you can. We can all use the help!