I am ever grateful for life’s unexpected moments. Last Monday, my friend and colleague Ned Reade handed me a large wrapped package. The shape and size of the package, and the fact that he is a watercolorist, led me to anticipate that it was a painting. He asked me to open it at home, which I did.
The painting is of my Grandpa and Grandma Peale’s former home, The Hill Farm, on Quaker Hill in Pawling, New York. Ned knows how special this place is to our family. “I just wanted you to have this watercolor and enjoy the many memories in that wonderful home,” he said. Not for a second was I expecting this gift on a Monday morning in March. And I cannot tell you how much I appreciate his thoughtfulness in creating this treasure for me.
It is a bit overwhelming, albeit a joyfully overwhelming, when someone does something so selflessly kind. It gives us an opportunity to pause in that joy and “allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are,” as author Marianne Williamson wrote.
I cannot help but think about all that Guideposts does to bring the gift of joy and comfort to millions of people each day—through Grandpa Peale’s books; the inspirational booklets distributed to our servicemen and women or to people in hospitals, nursing homes and doctors’ offices around the country and the OurPrayer ministry.
So many people count on these outreaches by Guideposts and still more receive or experience these resources, unexpectedly, through the kindness of others.
To all of you who support Guideposts Outreach Programs, thank you for giving millions of people around the world that much-appreciated gift of joy and comfort. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that giving has brought you joy as well. As Maya Angelou noted, “I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver.”
I look forward to hanging Ned’s gift of this watercolor in our home. Not only will it remind me of the multitude of memories created at The Hill Farm, it will also remind me of the simple and genuine gift of giving and the myriad of ways I too can be a giver.
