By Heidi Hess
My friend arrived from her trip to the west coast of Florida. Her house in Winter Park was fine. Her best friends house in Tampa wasn’t so lucky, and so she headed over to help her recover. Like a lot of people, she was in shock, unable to emote, move forward or ask for help.
We watch the news with our family. Heck, maybe we know people who were affected by the tornadoes in Wellington and Loxahatchee. I’m fortunate to say that my friends and family were unscathed.
Or were they? Based on my friend’s reaction, I quickly skimmed through my local friends. Do I know someone that was going through something similar? Shocked and unable to ask for the help they need?
Maybe this Thanksgiving we could encourage our kids to check in on our friends more regularly. Sometimes, the issues are obvious- a hurricane, tornadoes or flooding. Other times, it’s more subtle, quiet problems that are leaving them shell shocked and unable to even ask for help.
So as you gather around your table, think about the people in your life that could be hurting. What can we do to help them? It might be something simple. A small gesture at the right time could mean everything.
Love, real love, comes not from words but from our actions.
(Editor: On a related note, here’s how you can donate items to Wellington’s Holiday Food Drive).