Pay it Forward

The past few months have brought immense hardship for my mother and father. As my father’s health has declined, he has spent his days since October in Southlake hospital. Two weeks ago, after the hospital refused continued care, he was sent home, and my mother took on the grueling task of caring for him, with the help of PSWs, around the clock as he lives out his final stages of his 21-year battle with Parkinson’s.

If life couldn’t be more taxing than that, my mother unfortunately became a victim of fraud and was scammed out of her life savings last week. This type of threat, she is aware of and, under normal circumstances, would never have been tricked by. But with her focus solely on caring for my father and the lack of sleep each night, she fell for the carefully planned and elaborate online scam. They played on her fear of having her identity stolen, leading her through a series of steps that ultimately emptied her bank account.

This is not a platform I ever expected to use, but in this difficult time, I feel compelled to “do something” and hope to ease some of their burden by showing that, even in tough times, there are fellow sojourners in this life who care for the weary. My hope is to have their daily living costs covered for the next three months, as my mother starts from scratch. As a family, we have of course already committed to helping her and will continue to do what we can.

At 70, my mother is the embodiment of resilience in the face of adversity. She never asks for help, opens her home to anyone in need, serves others with a heart full of love, continues to work as a grief counselor, and finds joy in life’s small blessings. She never asks for assistance but will admit this season is overwhelming, and impossible to see the way forward. Regardless though through it all, she has remained strong in her faith and graceful in the trial.

If you are able, please consider giving what you would normally spend on a coffee this week to help spread some well-deserved love and support. If you "Pay it forward" I guarantee your kindness will not be in vain.

Grateful for a moment of your time, Krystel