THE BEST GIFTS cannot be bought. How often have you heard that cliché? It’s true.
We each hold the capacity to give gifts that hold value far beyond anything that can be purchased. For example, when I celebrated my birthday last week, I received several unexpected gifts that brought me profound joy. Joy as in crying and experiencing an overall feeling of being deeply loved.
The first arrived in my mailbox, by all appearances just a birthday card sealed inside an envelope. But when I opened the card, I discovered a clutch of colorful sticky notes. Upon those neon slips of paper, a friend and her family penned powerful words of encouragement and love. Exactly what I needed.
How could I not feel joyful when I’m told I’m loved and that God created me to do amazing things?
Minnesota Prairie Roots file photo 2018.
The simple word SMILE, written in an artsy font, prompted a smile.
Now I have that stack of uplifting notes to remind me that Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about dancing in the rain. I needed to read that perspective and my friend knew it.
Then several hours later my dear Aunt Dorothy called from New Jersey to wish me a happy birthday. She’s the aunt who lived in Minneapolis when I was a child and who gave me her old nail polish and lipstick and jewelry and made me feel so loved, especially with her endearing name for me, My Little Princess. All these decades later, Dorothy still calls me that sweet name. Not simply Little Princess. But My Little Princess. I feel so loved.
And then, just as Randy was preparing to cook dinner on my birthday (because I refuse to cook on my birthday), my niece Tara arrived with her sweet family. She held a box containing six fancy cupcakes from Cream of the Cakes in Lakeville. I never expected this. And that’s the sweetness of this act. This young mom took time out of her busy life to not only buy those delicious cupcakes but then to drive 20 some minutes to deliver them. And bonus, I got wonderful hugs from my great nephew who is, as he told me, three. Not two.
Add to that a bouquet of garden-fresh hydrangea from a friend earlier in the week and flowers from Randy and I feel pretty darned loved. Calls, emails and a video chat with the grandkids brought more birthday joy. The best gifts cannot be bought.
I challenge you this week to reach out to someone who needs the gift of joy—of uplifting words, of a simple act of love and kindness, of a surprise gift. As my friend printed on a sticky note: Be the reason someone smiles today!
© Copyright 2019 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
Reflecting on the power of words August 24, 2026
Tags: commentary, encouragement, kindness, Minnesota, positive words, reflections, thoughts, uplifting words, window stickers, words, wordsmith
WORDS MATTER. And, as a wordsmith, I find myself especially drawn to words that uplift. Encouraging words exist everywhere in everyday life, if we look and listen for them.
Read them in a book. See them on a window or bumper sticker. Find them on a painted stone. Overhear them in a conversation. Speak them.
To use words in a positive way holds tremendous power. Likewise, to use words in a negative way can cause hurt that runs deep and destructive.
Choose your words wisely. Be kind. Listen. Speak lovingly. Show compassion and care in words and actions. Strive to do good. Look for the best in others.
And if you must correct, counter or disagree, then do so in the gentlest of ways. Be respectful. That is much more effective than anger, accusations and fiery words that inflame.
We all live in this world together. We are all connected. And as such, let’s remember our humanity, our commonalities, that which builds up rather than breaks down. See the good in one another. Choose love and kindness. Embrace happiness. Live not selfishly, but with concern, care and compassion for others.
This, my friends, is possible. And it starts with each of us, individually.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling