Pull up a chair, grab a cup of something warm, and stay awhile. These are stories from the heart, written for the days when life feels heavy, hopeful, messy, beautiful, or somewhere lost.
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A Little Sparkle In A World That Feels Mean
(© 2026 April Gillenwater | Big Heart Real Life. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized use, reproduction, distribution, or adaptation of any lyrics, songs, writings, recordings, or original content is strictly prohibited.)
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Lately, my heart has been heavy.
Over the past week, I have seen so much hate, anger, and meanness. People hurting other people simply because they can. People saying things they know will wound someone. People trying to make another person’s life harder, their day worse, or even threaten their livelihood and the way they provide for their families.
And if I’m being honest, I don’t understand it.
I don’t understand why some people seem determined to make others miserable.
I don’t understand why we spend so much energy worrying about what someone else is doing instead of focusing on our own lives.
I don’t understand why kindness seems so difficult for some people. I have met some wonderful people in the last two days.
(One owns a beautiful campsite in Chickamauga Ga. I will share about that in a future post.)
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Maybe that’s why what happened this weekend touched my heart so much.
On Sunday, my family was invited to a family reunion.
The funny thing is… we weren’t even family.
At least not by blood.
But that didn’t matter to the people there.
The Ownby family welcomed my husband and children with open arms. They didn’t make them feel like outsiders. They didn’t make them feel awkward. They didn’t make them earn a seat at the table.
They simply said,
“Come eat with us.”
And eat they did.
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There was fried chicken, meatloaf, sliders, meatballs, potato casserole, squash casserole, slaw, desserts galore, and the most amazing corn dip casserole thing that I am still hoping someone sends me the recipe for. (Wink Wink)
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I wasn’t able to attend because I wasn’t feeling well, but my husband came home talking about how welcomed he felt.
How warm everyone was.
How kind everyone was.
And then they loaded my family up with food to bring home. (Because my husband and children did not want to eat without me. 🥰)
Not one plate.
Not two plates.
Eight plates.
Eight.
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That’s the kind of generosity people don’t forget.
The kind that sticks with you.
The kind that reminds you that good people still exist.
So to the Ownby family:
Thank you.
Thank you for opening your hearts.
Thank you for opening your tables.
Thank you for treating my family like we belonged there.
Thank you for reminding us what kindness looks like.
You may not realize it, but your generosity was a bright light in a week that felt full of darkness.
And because of that, you’ll always feel like family to us too.
I hope our paths cross again soon.
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As I sat thinking about all of this, it made me realize something.
The world may be full of people spreading negativity, but all it takes is one person spreading kindness to change someone’s entire day.
One smile.
One invitation.
One encouraging word.
One plate of food.
One act of generosity.
One little sparkle.
Sometimes that tiny sparkle is enough to wash away a whole lot of ugly.
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So here’s my question for you:
(＾－＾)What can you do today to spread a little sparkle?
How can you make someone smile? 😀
How can you make someone feel welcome? (‾◡◝)
How can you remind someone they matter? 🤎
Leave a comment below and tell me how you would spread a little sparkle in the world.
Because I think we could all use a little more kindness and a little less hate.
And maybe, just maybe, your sparkle will be the one that changes someone’s day.(❁´◡`❁)
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