Salt Lake City Shine Event

i feel like i should write about my experience at the Salt City Shine Event last weekend.
i didn’t really feel like writing about it earlier because it’s pretty much been covered already by a few of other bloggers. but i had some of my own personal memories & feelings that i wanted to write down so i can remember them in the future.

i got there late so i got to tag along with Brooke and Liz {which was totally serendipitous!}
Brooke and Liz are the amazing ladies behind 4 Charity, a group of awesome women who go out of their way to serve others. they also work with the Pearls With Purpose Foundation where they help underprivileged women and children all over the world by helping them start their own businesses.

i LOVED hanging out with them!!!
i’m pretty sure i haven’t laughed so hard in forever and were so fun to be around!
they both have 2-year-old boys as well so it was fun to talk mommy & share stories with one another.
definitely a day to remember!

one of the highlights of our excursion was stopping at a local Maverick gas station to leave some nice notes for the customers.
when we went into the bathroom, we realized the only stall that had toilet paper was locked from the inside.
so we decided that part of our good deed would be to unlock it for the other customers.
Brooke lifted me up to unlock the door on the other side but we didn’t really think it through all the way…
all of a sudden the door swings open inward and Brooke loses her grip on me so i’m just hanging on the door screaming & laughing and Brooke is saying, “Oh no!!”
she got a hold of me again and helped me back down but we were DY.ING!!!
for reals one of the top five funniest moments of my life!

[on a more serious level…] going around Salt Lake and doing small acts of service was a really eye-opening experience. and at some parts it was absolutely heartbreaking…
all the things we had to do were so simple that it almost felt silly doing them.
as in, how is writing a note or giving away cookies really going to change someone’s life?

but seeing the faces of those who you are able to help makes you realize what a special thing you are doing.
when you are able to forget yourself for a few minutes and put your energy into something more worthwhile, even just by handing someone a small note, it can become a really powerful experience.
and they will remember that moment when someone showed love for them forever.
there’s little else in this world that can make you feel as good about yourself as helping those around you.

even just being in the car with Liz & Brooke was a service they gave to me and probably didn’t even realize it.
they didn’t know that i needed their friendship that day.
they didn’t really know me at all.
but by reaching out to me and showing love towards me was a huge blessing for me that day.
and that was a very simple thing they did.

this project really has helped open my eyes to see all the small things that can be done every day to not only be a friend to others, but to better my own life as well by filling it with more love for those i meet.
i hope we can all show more love to one another
and be the source of happiness for those who need a loving friend.