Paying it forward
I've mentioned my friend Janet on my blog several times. Well now is even a better time to mention her. She is having a massive give away that you will want to be a part of. I promise. The greatest thing about this giveaway is the fact that it's more than just entering your name. It's much more than that...for rules about the giveaway click below. But don't go anywhere just yet. I want to share you with you WHY I'm entering this giveaway. We're sharing stories of when someone has served us. There are so many instances for me to share but I think I'm leaning towards one particular circumstance. But first, a little background. Please enjoy:
Danny graduated from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute in 2005 and after moving back to Utah we had been trying to make things work financially despite the student loans that came creeping up. Really trying. He had started out making a pathetically low wage so that he could "get his foot in the door" somewhere. We were patient (well as patient as you can be when you are making next to nothing). We had moved in with my parents in 2006 and I was having major health issues (mostly, I was going crazy because I had just had a baby and was experiencing some postpartum depression as well as some winter blues). This led to a series of events which brings us to where we are now. We lived with my parents for 6 months and then needed to get out on our own. We moved to Murray and met some of the best people I know. It was where we needed to be at that time of our lives. We were treated so well and made friends that will last a lifetime.
Then in 2007 we realized that life as a chef wasn't going to work for us. With the illegal immigrants taking many of the desirable jobs and the lack of experience in a high end restaurant or resort, Danny wasn't going to make enough to support us (and those stinking student loans). After a conversation with his soon-to-retire Executive Pastry Chef it became very clear that It was better to move on. Making $50,000/yr after 50+ years in the industry just wasn't going to cut it. We were pretty discouraged. It wasn't like Danny wasn't trying because he was. It just wasn't in the cards and we knew it. After much fasting and prayer we decided we needed to bite the bullet and do a full fledged career change. That was difficult. I remember several teary nights where we weren't sure how we were going to make ends meet and how we got ourselves into this mess when we both felt so strongly that the culinary industry was where Danny needed to be. It just wasn't fair. We have asked ourselves countless times if what we did was a mistake. To this day, we don't know why we felt prompted to take our lives down to Arizona after becoming naive newly weds but we did what we felt was right.
After the career change, we were desperate for any job that would pay the bills until Danny decided what he wanted to study. We just weren't solidifying anything and Danny was feeling the pressure. Going back to school didn't seem right until he knew with absolute assurance of what he wanted to study. We weren't going to make the same mistake. So he took a job with a mortgage company. In the middle of 2008 we realized that during this interim, we couldn't pay our student loans (which were roughly $500/month) as well as our rent. So we dropped our pride and moved in with my parents again. In December we hit our version of rock bottom. This is where the story begins.
{The details are little blurry so we might be off a bit but it's VERY close to the truth). One night in December of 2008 we were sitting around in the family room and heard the doorbell ring. Now, since I am an adult version of a child--I ran to the door hoping that someone was doing the 12 days of Christmas to us. But what I found was a tall, narrow bag with some sparkling cider and 2 envelopes inside. It was addressed to both Danny and I so we sat down to check things out. I'll never forget the overwhelming feeling of the Spirit of Christ as we opened those envelopes. There were 2 envelopes from "Kris Kringle" labeled Peace & Joy. The enveloped label Peace had a letter from Kris stating that he wanted to give us some financial peace during the Season and there were 2 Visa Gift Cards. One for $100 and one for $50. My eyes were as wide as saucers and that was just the beginning. The second envelope said something like "Dear RaeLynn and Danny, I am aware of some financial problems you have been experiencing and have taken the liberty to book a hotel night at the Hotel Monacco downtown to help you forget your troubles for an evening.
The stay has been completely paid for and has included valet parking, breakfast in bed the next morning and any type of room service that you desire. The Gift Cards can go towards the dinner you will enjoy at the Bambara Restaurant located on the main floor of the hotel.
After your breakfast in bed the next morning I have scheduled a couple's massage at the Sanctuary Day Spa at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City.
All arrangements have been made. If these dates don't work, please contact me at theweihnachtsmann@gmail.com and we can change the dates. Enjoy this holiday season. Love, Kris Kringle."
Accompanying the letter was $500 in cash. Danny and I just sat there and I couldn't hold back the tears. I started crying and it wasn't beautiful weepy tears, it was the ugly heaving type crying. I couldn't believe that someone would be THIS generous. There were only a handful of people that knew about financial situation and it had to be someone who knew us well because my name was spelled CORRECTLY (very rare) :)
We immediately started trying to figure it out who it was. It was going to drive me crazy. I had to know who to thank. All I had was the email address he left in the letter so we emailed him/her to let them know how much we appreciated their generosity and that the dates worked perfectly. After Christmas, we were able to get away for a quick weekend away from the world and all our problems. It was exactly what we needed. We didn't think about all the crap we were going through at home. We just spent time together and loved it. I posted a few pictures in a blog post after we got back but I turned the comments off and didn't give any details. I didn't feel sure about blogging about it. After over a year has gone by, I feel comfortable sharing the details about this huge blessing in our lives. We have decided to let go of trying to discover who gave us this wonderful opportunity. If we had done it for someone else--we would have wanted to remain anonymous too. It's more fun that way. And they will be blessed accordingly. We have prayed for this 'Kris Kringle". That this person would be blessed with what they were in need of for being so in tune with the Spirit. We'll never forget about this act of service. We'll also never forget the feelings we shared as we drove up to the valet parking booth in our clunker of a car :) It was pretty funny.
All joking aside, this will always stand out to us as an amazing gesture from someone who saw that we needed to be uplifted and we have no doubt that this person was just acting on behalf of our Heavenly Father who knew that some of his children needed to feel some extra love that Christmas Season. We can't wait to do this for someone else when we are financially able. It is our goal to get to a place financially that we can help pay it forward...because after all, what goes around really does come around.
If you want to share a story of service, please join in. It doesn't have to be a long story like mine...click on the link for details...and remember that service happens everyday, whether large or small. It's all around us.
P.S. The food was amazing. Easily the best food we have EVER tasted. No exaggerating. The couple's massage was fantastic...even if Danny did get a deep muscle back massage and wanted to cry out in pain a few times...all around very, very fabulous.
Danny graduated from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute in 2005 and after moving back to Utah we had been trying to make things work financially despite the student loans that came creeping up. Really trying. He had started out making a pathetically low wage so that he could "get his foot in the door" somewhere. We were patient (well as patient as you can be when you are making next to nothing). We had moved in with my parents in 2006 and I was having major health issues (mostly, I was going crazy because I had just had a baby and was experiencing some postpartum depression as well as some winter blues). This led to a series of events which brings us to where we are now. We lived with my parents for 6 months and then needed to get out on our own. We moved to Murray and met some of the best people I know. It was where we needed to be at that time of our lives. We were treated so well and made friends that will last a lifetime.
Then in 2007 we realized that life as a chef wasn't going to work for us. With the illegal immigrants taking many of the desirable jobs and the lack of experience in a high end restaurant or resort, Danny wasn't going to make enough to support us (and those stinking student loans). After a conversation with his soon-to-retire Executive Pastry Chef it became very clear that It was better to move on. Making $50,000/yr after 50+ years in the industry just wasn't going to cut it. We were pretty discouraged. It wasn't like Danny wasn't trying because he was. It just wasn't in the cards and we knew it. After much fasting and prayer we decided we needed to bite the bullet and do a full fledged career change. That was difficult. I remember several teary nights where we weren't sure how we were going to make ends meet and how we got ourselves into this mess when we both felt so strongly that the culinary industry was where Danny needed to be. It just wasn't fair. We have asked ourselves countless times if what we did was a mistake. To this day, we don't know why we felt prompted to take our lives down to Arizona after becoming naive newly weds but we did what we felt was right.
After the career change, we were desperate for any job that would pay the bills until Danny decided what he wanted to study. We just weren't solidifying anything and Danny was feeling the pressure. Going back to school didn't seem right until he knew with absolute assurance of what he wanted to study. We weren't going to make the same mistake. So he took a job with a mortgage company. In the middle of 2008 we realized that during this interim, we couldn't pay our student loans (which were roughly $500/month) as well as our rent. So we dropped our pride and moved in with my parents again. In December we hit our version of rock bottom. This is where the story begins.
{The details are little blurry so we might be off a bit but it's VERY close to the truth). One night in December of 2008 we were sitting around in the family room and heard the doorbell ring. Now, since I am an adult version of a child--I ran to the door hoping that someone was doing the 12 days of Christmas to us. But what I found was a tall, narrow bag with some sparkling cider and 2 envelopes inside. It was addressed to both Danny and I so we sat down to check things out. I'll never forget the overwhelming feeling of the Spirit of Christ as we opened those envelopes. There were 2 envelopes from "Kris Kringle" labeled Peace & Joy. The enveloped label Peace had a letter from Kris stating that he wanted to give us some financial peace during the Season and there were 2 Visa Gift Cards. One for $100 and one for $50. My eyes were as wide as saucers and that was just the beginning. The second envelope said something like "Dear RaeLynn and Danny, I am aware of some financial problems you have been experiencing and have taken the liberty to book a hotel night at the Hotel Monacco downtown to help you forget your troubles for an evening.
The stay has been completely paid for and has included valet parking, breakfast in bed the next morning and any type of room service that you desire. The Gift Cards can go towards the dinner you will enjoy at the Bambara Restaurant located on the main floor of the hotel.
After your breakfast in bed the next morning I have scheduled a couple's massage at the Sanctuary Day Spa at the Gateway Mall in Salt Lake City.
All arrangements have been made. If these dates don't work, please contact me at theweihnachtsmann@gmail.com and we can change the dates. Enjoy this holiday season. Love, Kris Kringle."
Accompanying the letter was $500 in cash. Danny and I just sat there and I couldn't hold back the tears. I started crying and it wasn't beautiful weepy tears, it was the ugly heaving type crying. I couldn't believe that someone would be THIS generous. There were only a handful of people that knew about financial situation and it had to be someone who knew us well because my name was spelled CORRECTLY (very rare) :)
We immediately started trying to figure it out who it was. It was going to drive me crazy. I had to know who to thank. All I had was the email address he left in the letter so we emailed him/her to let them know how much we appreciated their generosity and that the dates worked perfectly. After Christmas, we were able to get away for a quick weekend away from the world and all our problems. It was exactly what we needed. We didn't think about all the crap we were going through at home. We just spent time together and loved it. I posted a few pictures in a blog post after we got back but I turned the comments off and didn't give any details. I didn't feel sure about blogging about it. After over a year has gone by, I feel comfortable sharing the details about this huge blessing in our lives. We have decided to let go of trying to discover who gave us this wonderful opportunity. If we had done it for someone else--we would have wanted to remain anonymous too. It's more fun that way. And they will be blessed accordingly. We have prayed for this 'Kris Kringle". That this person would be blessed with what they were in need of for being so in tune with the Spirit. We'll never forget about this act of service. We'll also never forget the feelings we shared as we drove up to the valet parking booth in our clunker of a car :) It was pretty funny.
All joking aside, this will always stand out to us as an amazing gesture from someone who saw that we needed to be uplifted and we have no doubt that this person was just acting on behalf of our Heavenly Father who knew that some of his children needed to feel some extra love that Christmas Season. We can't wait to do this for someone else when we are financially able. It is our goal to get to a place financially that we can help pay it forward...because after all, what goes around really does come around.
If you want to share a story of service, please join in. It doesn't have to be a long story like mine...click on the link for details...and remember that service happens everyday, whether large or small. It's all around us.
P.S. The food was amazing. Easily the best food we have EVER tasted. No exaggerating. The couple's massage was fantastic...even if Danny did get a deep muscle back massage and wanted to cry out in pain a few times...all around very, very fabulous.
Comments
Great story! Thanks so much for sharing.
But I have to tell you, don't feel like you don't have what you need to give now...you're an amazing woman RaeLynn, and you don't need money to change lives! Simply being you and sharing your talents and love will be enough to pay forward. I truly believe that!