May 2nd

I want to extend a sincere "Thank you" to all those who have prayed for us and participated in Matt's 20th birthday and 20 random acts of kindness today. It was a good day. It was a hard day. It was a day of redemption, a day to bless others through remembering our son. My favorite response to one of the random acts of kindness was the wonderful hug I received from a young woman at Barnes and Noble when I gave her a gift card. I had approached her because I spied the cover of her book thinking it was a Calvin and Hobbes book. (Just one of many Matt enjoyed.) She was so sweet!

We also gave a red geranium to an elderly woman at an assisted living facility. She was deeply touched. The staff told us that she spent most of her time in her room, and she commented that she would enjoy looking at it and that it was beautiful.

At the mall we gave a group of young men iTunes gift cards, and it was fun to see their genuine appreciation of the gift. It was also fun to surprise a young mom with children with a bag of spearmint starlight mints (Matt's favorite). The Cheez-it's went to a beautiful pregnant woman in the parking lot of Walmart. Two McDonald's Mocha Frappe's went to unsuspecting drive-thru customers. A t-shirt in Matt's favorite shade of blue went to the cashier at Papa Murphey's, and it was heartwarming when he replied that blue was his favorite color. Lastly, we taped a coupon for a free Redbox movie onto the Redbox rental screen and are confident the person who finds it will be pleasantly surprised.

God's grace is sufficient, His love so evident in all of your thoughts and prayers for us, and in your actions. Thank you to those who posted about your random act of kindness in Matt's memory. (No pictures even necessary, but definitely appreciated.) I know a few did donations to Trout Lake Camps, as well, and they are especially touching. Matt loved Trout Lake. It is an amazing place, a place where their slogan is true...a meeting place with God. Thank you again. We are blessed.