“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at will change. ”
— Wayne Dyer
Gratitude
Lily’s Words
To this day, I have never resented my particular life-challenging situation, cancer. Cancer has given me an amazing gift of self-awareness and clarity of purpose. Because of my cancer challenge, I have developed a new lens to view the world, myself, others around me, and God. This new life is more powerful and has more profound meaning than my pre-cancer life. I am grateful that this life challenging event has opened my eyes to life’s meaning. Despite how this may sound to those who haven’t experienced a shift like I have, I can honestly say I would not trade my life with cancer for my prior life.
Gratitude and positivity go hand in hand. I frequently take an inventory of the many things I am grateful for. When I do this, it inevitably changes my mindset from negative to positive. Our ability to experience and lead a good life transcends material possessions. We all have an ability to live a loving life, caring for our friends, family, and community.
Giving
Lily’s Words
The ability to give is in itself a wonderful gift. We all have the ability to give. Gifts can come in all shapes in sizes. They can be created with money or time, and the best gifts are grounded in love.
My grandfather was a postman. During the holidays, he often received an extra tip from the customers on his mail route. I always remember that he meticulously wrote thank-you notes, one to each family that tipped him, and always of the same high quality. I asked him once why he spent so much time on each thank you, when some tips were only 50 cents and others were $20.
He responded, “These gifts mean the same to each person who gave them, it was what they could afford. My thank you notes are reflective of their sacrifice to provide me a tip.”
Six years ago, while living in Memphis, I witnessed terrible poverty. I knew I wanted to help, but didn’t know how. A friend invited me to a charity event called “Empty Bowls,” which raised money and food for homeless people. It was a modest charity, but I immediately felt my calling. I then became involved with a pre-school located in a very poor neighborhood. Many of the toddlers and kids faced tough challenges- single parent households, inadequate nourishment, and limited reading time. Some friends and I established a food bank and organized tutoring for the young children. I continued to stay involved until our family moved to Colorado.
I was living in Colorado for less than six months when I started to feel the effects of the cancer. Once diagnosed, and upon having clarity in my outlook of life, I immediately wanted to return to helping young children achieve the nourishment they need to have a chance to succeed in life. Life is serendipitous. During my journey, my husband and I worked with a close friend to start Lily’s Toaster Grills, a company that intends to sell frozen grilled cheese sandwiches in grocery stores around the country. The catch- these sandwiches are reheated in the toaster, making them crispy on the outside and hot and gooey on the inside.
As we formed Lily’s Toaster Grills, we knew it could help with our broader mission. LuvFromLily benefits from the financial success of Lily’s Toaster Grills. Now that we had access to low cost meals, we needed a way to distribute them to children. STRIVE Prep is a fantastic series of schools in the greater Denver area, offering K-12 education. We bonded with STRIVE Prep founder Chris Gibbons, and we decided we would partner together.
We are excited about our partnership and our ability to continue to give to our community. I am grateful that I have found my path to giving.