{"id":1596,"date":"2017-08-04T19:42:22","date_gmt":"2017-08-05T00:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/?p=1596"},"modified":"2017-08-04T19:42:22","modified_gmt":"2017-08-05T00:42:22","slug":"gift-keeps-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/2017\/08\/04\/gift-keeps-giving\/","title":{"rendered":"A Gift That Keeps on Giving"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Kindness.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1597 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Kindness.jpeg\" alt=\"Red flowers with the words, &quot;Kindness:  a gift that keeps on giving&quot;\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Kindness.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Kindness-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Kindness-624x416.jpeg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a>Kindness: \u00a0A Gift That Keeps on Giving<\/p>\n<p>by Lydia Floren<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s cold up here in Wisconsin, so when the weather finally warms up, most of us folks try to stay out of doors as much as possible.\u00a0 For me, that means spending lots of time in my garden.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/map.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1598 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/map.jpeg\" alt=\"Map of the United States, with growing zones highlighted in different colors\" width=\"369\" height=\"246\" srcset=\"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/map.jpeg 369w, https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/map-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 369px) 100vw, 369px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Gardening is different in the Northwoods.\u00a0 We are in the &#8220;3b&#8221; USDA cold hardiness zone.\u00a0 The little purple stripe on the tippy top of the map.<\/p>\n<p>What that means is that the growing season is short, and only certain types of plants will survive. I have learned that perennials &#8211; flowers that come back every year &#8211; are the way to go. Several friends and neighbors have shared extras perennials with me over the years (and most of them I have managed to keep alive).\u00a0 For example, Liz gave me some hostas, and my neighbor across the road some angel\u2019s wings. Rhoda donated some bee balm and a rose bush I can\u2019t kill (I am quite good at killing roses!). \u00a0Lori contributed a bunch of day lilies and ferns, and I think some purple iris (was that you, Lori?).<\/p>\n<h2>Perennial blessings<\/h2>\n<p>Anyway, the explosive color in my yard summer after summer is in largely due to these dear folks\u2019 kindness. These flowers bless me and my family every year, and many others who\u00a0happen by, for some reason or another.\u00a0 Often they remind me of the friends who contributed so generously to my garden, the memories\u00a0prompting me to give thanks for the friend.<\/p>\n<h2>Memorable kindness<\/h2>\n<p>Gifts that keep on giving can come in all kinds of packages.\u00a0 They might be plants, or tangible presents people have given, like the afghan Karley crocheted for me, or the little pillow Debra gave me for my birthday one year.\u00a0 But the kindnesses that I most vividly remember are often the ones I can\u2019t see or touch.\u00a0 Terri, for example, taking an afternoon\u00a0 to shop for clothes just for me.\u00a0 Karen sending her boys over to help me sod the backyard, before Michael and Kiley\u2019s wedding reception.\u00a0 John Larson making me feel like a part of the team, when I started practice in Bloomer.\u00a0 Ms. Paula patiently listening, as I tearfully shared some small concern about my kindergartener. John Markquart rescuing me on the side of the road, where I was stuck in the snow.<\/p>\n<p>And my sister, Becky, painting my toenails while I was flat on my back after surgery.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lyd-and-me.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1599 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lyd-and-me.jpeg\" alt=\"Two sisters, heads close together, smiling\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lyd-and-me.jpeg 480w, https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Lyd-and-me-300x225.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Kindness endures<\/h2>\n<p>Kindness endures.\u00a0 It lasts long after the ground freezes over, the polish wears off, the clothes are discarded.\u00a0 A kindness &#8211; especially an intangible kindness &#8211; is remembered and shared and multiplied, traveling far beyond where you think it has gone. And, while many can be touched by it, kindness invariably blesses the giver most of all.<\/p>\n<p>So, if you feel that nudge to share an extra smile, or go out of your way a a bit, or give away some of what you have, do it. Kindness is never wasted. It truly is a gift that keeps on giving.<\/p>\n<p><i>Be kind and compassionate to one another.\u00a0 Eph. 4:32<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>What memories do you have of someone being kind to you?\u00a0 Please share. We would love to hear from you.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Kindness-lingers.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1600 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Kindness-lingers.jpeg\" alt=\"Ferns, with the caption Kindness lingers long after it is given.\" width=\"640\" height=\"496\" srcset=\"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Kindness-lingers.jpeg 640w, https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Kindness-lingers-300x233.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Kindness-lingers-624x484.jpeg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kindness: \u00a0A Gift That Keeps on Giving by Lydia Floren It\u2019s cold up here in Wisconsin, so when the weather finally warms up, most of us folks try to stay out of doors as much as possible.\u00a0 For me, that means spending lots of time in my garden. Gardening is different in the Northwoods.\u00a0 We [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[33],"class_list":["post-1596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-kindness"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A Gift That Keeps on Giving - Belovedlove<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/2017\/08\/04\/gift-keeps-giving\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Gift That Keeps on Giving - Belovedlove\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Kindness: \u00a0A Gift That Keeps on Giving by Lydia Floren It\u2019s cold up here in Wisconsin, so when the weather finally warms up, most of us folks try to stay out of doors as much as possible.\u00a0 For me, that means spending lots of time in my garden. 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