By now you’ve probably heard the term “Pay it Forward,” meaning to do something kind or generous for someone else, with the only expectation that they do something kind for another, not the original giver, in return. But have you heard of Paying it Forward “Jayden-style?” This story has moved me to tears, on several occasions. Jayden Lamb was an 8-year old boy who passed away a few days after Thanksgiving, 2012, from a rare form of cancer. Those who knew him said his spirit lifted everyone around him. He loved to give to others, to see people happy. Even on his worst days, he didn’t complain or feel sorry for himself, but instead, wore a smile on his face. Shortly before his death, he told his dad he would never get married, because “God needs him more.” And the world. And so begins the story of Paying it Forward, Jayden-Style.
The day of Jayden’s funeral, more than 1,000 people gathered in the small town of Midland, Michigan in his honor. Afterwards, the family was so filled with gratitude for the love and support their town showed them, that they purchased a pair of shoes for a random family and bought coffee for the people behind them at Starbucks. The message they left for the receivers was “Paying it Forward, Jayden-Style.” Little did they know that those two acts of kindness would spur on hundreds more in their community and all over the U.S and world. Paying it Forward in honor of Jayden have shown up not only all over Michigan, but stories from California, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maine, New Hapshire, Oregon, North Carolina, Mississippi, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, England, Australia, Afghanistan, and Germany are showing up daily on Jayden’s Facebook page (Keep on Truckin’ Team Jayden), a page with over 38,000 “likes.”
Stories of people paying for another random families meal or groceries has become the norm in Midland. Many holiday layaways were paid off by strangers, for strangers. On a daily basis, it’s not uncommon for drive-thru’s to have 30 customers come through and none of them actually pay for their own orders. One waitress received a $100 tip on a $5 meal. Two-thousand toys were donated in Jayden’s name so every child in town could have Christmas. The leftover toys were donated to the hospital in Ann Arbor where Jayden received his last cancer treatment. One woman dropped a gold, diamond ring worth $2,000 into a Salvation Army bucket. People are spending their birthdays doing as many random acts of kindness as they are old, as a birthday gift to themselves and others. A 10-year-old boy collected gifts and toiletries, wrapped them nicely and handed them out to the homeless all over Detroit. The stories are endless. Each time someone has paid it forward, Jayden’s story is told to the recipient or a note is left simply saying “Paying it Forward, Jayden-Style.”
Jayden was chosen as one of Yahoo’s 12 Most Inspirational Stories of 2012. The loss of this incredible boy has spurred hundreds, if not thousands of random acts of kindness worldwide. God needed him more. His spirit lives on and is giving more hope for humanity. A good deed brightens up a dark world. A world in which we hear about more bad things than good. A world in which we are more concerned with ourselves, than others. A world in which we have forgotten that giving is more important than receiving.
This year, I have made the decision to pay it forward whenever and however I can. Maybe that means paying for someone’s coffee, dinner or bridge toll, collecting food for the local homeless shelter, or simply sharing information about a friends’ business with others to help them thrive. Sometimes all it takes is stepping outside of ourselves for just a moment, to make an impact on someone else. We never know when an act of kindness could change the course for another human being.
What will you do to Pay it Forward in 2013?
Stories and Videos about Jayden Lamb.
