DailyGood

For the last 27 years, DailyGood newsletters have offered a daily email that inspires you to respond to life with creativity and kindness. To join a community of 148,442 subscribers, subscribe here.

Mar 10, 2024

"Kindness can transform someone's dark moment with a blaze of light. You'll never know how much your caring matters. " --Amy Leigh Mercree

Dishes in the Sink

When Bethany Renfree was 20 years-old, she lived with her three young daughters in a low-income apartment in California. Like most of the tenants, Renfree was a single mom. Life was full and overwhelming. One cold morning, as Renfree shuffled into the kitchen, she looked at the sink piled high with pots and pans and dishes. "These pots were caked in grease and burnt because I actually didn't really know how to cook very well at that time. So I'd always be burning our pans..." Her 18-month-old twins sat in their high chairs, their cheeks covered with jelly. Her youngest was just a month old. When her eyes returned to the sink, a feeling of hopelessness washed over her. "I just couldn't bring myself to do those dishes. And I couldn't look at them any longer. It was a reminder of how overwhelmed I felt in my own life." Before she could think, she found herself leaving a trash bag outside filled with the dirty dishes. Then, she grabbed her girls, and left for the day. When the family returned home that evening, little did Renfree know that a surprise awaited.