CHANGE

Have you ever take a moment to think about all the people that have helped you along your way through this journey we call life? Some people are fortunate to have wonderful families that support them and help them along the way. Unfortunately not everyone is blessed in that manner but other blessings along life's road do happen to come a long. I can’t begin to express my thankfulness for the people that’ve stepped up in my life and helped me and guide me and help shape the person I am today. My life could look very differently than it does.  I was a young 18-year-old kid who had been living on her own since 16, hopping from one friends couch to the other and even living in my car. I had an accident a few weeks before I met Mike and Vicky. I was now homeless and careless when Vicky came across me. I was walking on 1869 in Liberty Hill trying to get to work off 620 and 183 the Lakeline area which seems a little ridiculous. There’s no way anyone would consider that a walking distance to commute back-and-forth to work. Vicky stopped and talked to me for a little bit and asked me what the heck I was doing.  I didn’t really know her, she was more of acquaintance than anything. I went to high school with her son. He was a little bit older than me. She took a chance on me. Offered me a ride to work, dropped me off and later that night her husband and her had dinner at my place of work. They offered their home to me, they said please come live with us, you can’t be living on the street. You can’t be trying to get to work with no car. I did and it was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. Not only did they open up their home to me they opened up their hearts to me. There was a huge friendship and bond that was formed there and there’s still so much love between us. Now our lives have taken us in different paths but the love and friendship is still there. We may go months, sometimes years without talking, but we are always able to pick up the phone and count on one another and pick up right where we left off the last time. They allowed me to live with them for close to a year and a half and during that time that I lived with them they provided guidance to buy a vehicle. They also encourage me to go to school which I did with their help. I was able to go to dental assisting school. Without their guidance, I wouldn’t have been able to get myself in a vehicle let alone get myself through school. Without their generosity I would not have the career I have today which allows me to provide for the family that I have been blessed with. It seems so surreal to me at times to think that random acts of kindness from strangers that don’t really know someone would be willing to take a chance on a nobody can change the course of someone’s life. So the next time you come across someone who is struggling, don’t be scared to take a chance on them. Be willing to help. I’m not necessarily saying that you need to walk the same path that Mike and Vicky did because God has a very special plan for those wonderful people but don’t just turn a blind eye. Don’t turn your head, don’t walk away because a small act of kindness can just change someone’s life for the better. I once was a young adult with a very limited future. Now I'm a wife a mother a career woman. Those small acts of kindness played a big role in who I am today. It wasn’t always easy. I had to do the work myself, dig deep, learn to believe in myself and make sacrifice but it was worth it. I just needed someone to believe in me. Thank you Mike and Vicky with all my heart. God put you in my path to save me from the road I was going down and brought me back to him. I am so thankful for everything that you guys did for me. Words cannot express how much I love y’all.

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Sincerely Kayla Johnson