It was not long ago during covid lockdown that I struggled to breathe. I longed for peace. The kind of peace that is not masked with shopping, the kind of peace that is not an illusion, the kind of peace that no one can threaten or take away. Thus, what I longed for was peace within, and through that journey, I met wonderful people such as Vernon, Zizipho, Buhle, aunt Louisa, and many other wonderful people at Stodels, Bellvile. 

I swear everyone there has a heart of gold, and very kind even when fatigued. I wonder if all of them drink a ‘be kind cool laid?’ hahaha….

One day, at the heart of covid lockdown, I went to Stodels to buy seedlings to plant. I met a wonderful lady by the name of Zizipho, she was kind and ever smiling. We started conversing about what I was looking for, but to my surprise I met someone, who is of service to others through her job. She asked me if it’s my first to start gardening? I said “yes”. Zizipho, started educating me about the pros and cons of gardening. She told me about the benefits of the plants, how to water, when to water, in which season should I plant specific plants, what type of soil to use, when to fertilise, how the plants work, which plant is best for flu, skin and detoxing and so on. 

I could not stop listening, her face lit up while she was talking, I could see myself in her, for the first time, as people usually say I lit up when talking about food and baking. Since that day, I kept going back for more seedlings to plant and every time I would ask for Zizipho, that everyone would call for her every time I walked in saying “Zizipho here’s your client”. At first, I was shocked that everyone noticed that she became my favourite person there, although pleased. 

One time she was on leave, and I was assisted by Buhle, I received the same treatment. Through Buhle I learned about how to prepare ready potatoes to plant and grow more. Randomly I will be assisted by others too, there has never been a day where I felt that they are different in acts of service and beautiful personalities. Kudos to whoever hired these kind souls.

Now I needed indoor plants, and this when I met other angels namely, Vernon and aunt Louisa (the green finger aunty). For context, Zizipho and Buhle are outdoor plant specialists.

When I met Vernon I was looking for air purifying plants, and he recommended the best of the best. However, our plants conversation went beyond that, without even realising, I was telling him about my past mental wellbeing issues (during lockdown), only to find out that he too, could relate from personal experience. We exchanged words of encouragement to keep fighting, to never give up and trust God, always. 

Meeting Vernon, made me realise that, all of us are going through some kind of struggle. Some struggles are visible while others cannot be seen. I saw kind-hearted and smiling people at Stodels, they healed me without even realising, because of them I found the peace I longed for, through gardening and learning from nature to also take care of myself.

However, some of them have internal pains and struggles that no one can see, so, I learned to be a better person who strive to be kind every day, while I am also work in progress. Conversely, I later found out that other customers were healed from depression after talking to Vernon. One of them was considering the worst possible solution to his problem, except, God used Vernon through His grace to save the life of that customer. Till this day, I really thank God for putting him at Stodels.

I met aunt Louisa through Vernon, he recommended her to help me plant my indoor plants that were dying, he said “she’s the best lady with green fingers”. Since that day, whenever I struggle with my plants, I go to her.

This video is my act of kindness to say thank you, you helped me without realising it. It’s my appreciation for all of you. Please extend this kindness to others, always. I pray that this finds you well, and may the Heavenly Father bless you all beyond measure. I hope I did not disturb your work much.