I’m Not Lost
Kindness sometimes works in mysterious ways. It sneaks up on us in the most surprising moments, times when we desperately need it and other times when our cup is full. Kindness is never lost though, it’s always in the right place.
Several years back, I was scrolling through Facebook when an interesting article popped up. A short piece, from a Vermont page I follow. It was the image that caught my eye, a scarf tied to a fence in the village square with a small note attached, “I’m not lost”. A simple message really, for anyone who might happen upon it.
Now I was intrigued, so I clicked on the article and read it in full. Someone was knitting scarves and leaving them tied to the fence in the center of town for whomever might need them. Clever idea, I thought, how nice and I scrolled along.
I do a little knitting myself, just simple projects on a knitting loom, but it keeps my hands busy and my projects make great gifts. However, I do think there are only so many times you can give a person a new scarf before you need to think of something else as a gift. Another issue I ran into was a small yarn obsession, once you start it’s hard to stop. There are stashes I’m still working my way through, so last year I began to donate my projects to my local Food Bank.
This new outlet for my projects gave me new inspiration to knit again, so I picked up my looms and got to work. Every week or so I would drive to the Food Bank and drop off more knitted goods for their clients to choose from and that felt pretty good. Then the Pandemic hit and life changed in ways you couldn’t have seen coming. Clients were no longer allowed to browse the Food Bank, bags were brought out to them and the browsing days were over.
I sat on this new situation for a bit, the Pandemic threw everyone for a loop. How was I going to get my projects out to folks who may need them? The answer sprang up across the street from my house. A little stand that was selling homemade Dog Biscuits was converted into a small Food Pantry for our community.
At first we wondered who would visit such a small Food Pantry in a tiny little town? The answer came shortly after, anyone who may need it in these times. Some folks come to fill the Pantry, others come to fill their bags. Food insecurity is a real issue for many folks and our little town was doing it’s part. Heck, I’ve run over there several times to donate food items, feels good.
It’s at this moment that I realized, I’m not lost, I’m exactly where I need to be. I ran home and up the stairs to my finished projects stash. I grabbed a nice, heavy scarf and head back downstairs. Under the bed are the gift tags, I grabbed a few and headed back downstairs.
“I’m not lost, I’m looking for a new home. If you need a little warmth, then I’m your scarf”