There’s no sting in this tale – the world is full of good hearts

Caroline leaned over the garden fence and apologised, saying: “I may have put you in danger!”

They had been walking along the path when her dog pounced on a bee. She pushed the dog to one side and waited for the bee to make its escape. But, it didn’t.

“It seemed to have had the wind knocked out of it,” Caroline smiled.

So she cupped her hands under it, and lifted it over my fence.

Whereupon, it found a new lease of life and flew straight to my azalea bush. Now, she was concerned I might get stung. Something that hadn’t occurred to her when she was helping the struggling little creature.

If there weren’t people in the world who would care for a bee (and each other) we would all probably be in greater danger.

But, because there are such good hearts, I’ll be thankful – and risk a little sting from time to time.

Colin and Margaret take a moment before their meal just to give thanks for all the good things in their life.

Son Josh, 14, has long ignored this whenever he was with them.

If they ask him what he’s thankful for, he usually says: “Food!”

During the week, they met him at a supermarket café.

Margaret was worried about a hospital appointment she had coming up.

Colin was shaken after a near-miss he had while driving.

After comparing woes, they started eating.

Then Josh put his cutlery down and, in a gentle voice, said: “Yeah… but what are you thankful for.”

It was a timely reminder never to forget out blessings and proof our children do listen, even when they seem uninterested.

“Josh,” Colin told me. “We were both very thankful for Josh!”

A friend of mine died recently, and it hit me pretty hard. I was getting things done but, on an emotional level, I was pretty numb.

I had to stop off at someone’s house on an unrelated errand.

Arriving, I heard noises from their back garden. Walking round, I saw the man of the house cutting the grass. The little lad was kicking a ball about. His sister squealed when she saw me and insisted I watch her bounce on the trampoline. Their mother invited me for lunch, but I couldn’t stay.

As I left, a friend of the family arrived with her children. The sound of happy chaos went up several notches.

Walking off I felt an unexpected lightness in my soul.

Nobody had said anything special. No specific help had been offered, but the whole experience reminded me of one inescapable, joyous fact – life goes on.

Moving home is stressful, but Ron also has a fear of meeting new people.

The prospect of meeting his new neighbours was seriously upsetting.

The morning after his first night in his new house, I popped in to see how he was.

Well, Ron was remarkably cheerful and said he had slept like a baby.

I cautiously asked if he had met any of the neighbours. He said no – but he was looking forward to it!

Why? Because one of them had left a potted plant on his front step as a welcome gift.

The neighbor could have had no idea of Ron’s panic, or how much of a help their simple gift would be.

And that’s the wonder of kindness – we never know.

And often we make a bigger difference than we could ever have imagined.

When the chores are all done, It’s time to think of you, When the sun is shining, What a little break can do, See a new flower blooming, Or smell the new cut grass, Relaxing in a deck chair, Some “you” time at last.