Jane Bond Counselling

04/01/2026

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Thursday morning, they found the coats. Fifteen of them. All winter coats, nice ones—not throwaway stuff. Hung on the fence outside Lincoln Elementary School. No note. No explanation. Just coats, closed like ghosts waiting for a body.
The principal panicked. She called the police: “They could be stolen, or a prank.”
Then Kayla, eight years old, spoke up. Her mom worked nights cleaning offices, and they couldn’t afford a coat. She went to school wearing three sweatshirts on top of each other. She touched the purple one, her size, and whispered, “Can I?”
The gym teacher said yes, before anyone could stop her.
By lunchtime, the coats were gone. Fifteen children finally warm. The next week? Twenty coats. Then thirty. Then blankets. Boots. Every Thursday, all winter long.
No cameras. No posts. Just… coats.
The newspapers called it “The Fence Angel.” But no one knew who it was.
Until March.
An elderly man had died, Earl Hutchins, 71. He lived alone in a basement. When his house was cleared out, they found hundreds of receipts from thrift stores. He had spent his entire pension buying coats and quietly hanging them at night.
In a journal, he had written:
“I lost my son in 2004. He was homeless, proud, refused help. He died frozen in a t-shirt. If I put coats on a fence, no one has to ask. No one has to admit they need it. They just take it. With dignity.”
I am Kayla Martinez. Now I’m sixteen. That purple coat saved me in fourth grade. I never met Earl. I never got to say thank you.
But last November, I used my babysitting money to buy six coats. I hung them on the same fence.
My friends did the same. Then their parents. Then the school. Now it’s become “Earl’s Fence.”
Last Thursday, there were 200 coats. And scarves. Gloves. Now there’s an Earl’s Fence in Detroit. In Manchester. In Vancouver.
I never met the man who saved me from the cold. But I’m becoming him. One coat at a time.
Because real help doesn’t make noise. It just sits there. In silence. Waiting for cold hands searching for warmth.

04/01/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17x8ZpgrQK/?mibextid=wwXIfr

03/01/2026

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I close this year quietly 🤍
Not with noise.
Not with celebration.
But with a prayer whispered from a tired heart 🕊

For the ones who felt broken this year —
may healing find you gently.
Not all at once.
Not loudly.
But in small moments where pain loosens its grip 🌿

For the ones who were sick —
may strength return to your body
and hope return to your spirit.
May each new day bring a little more light than the last ☀️

For hearts weighed down by sadness —
may joy surprise you again.
Not the kind that demands effort,
but the kind that arrives softly
and reminds you that you’re still allowed to feel okay 🤍

For the lonely —
may love reach you in ways you didn’t expect.
Through a kind word.
A shared silence.
A reminder that you were never invisible 🌙

For the hungry —
may provision meet you.
May hands open.
May compassion move.
May no one feel forgotten 🍞

And for this world —
so tired,
so heavy,
so divided —
may peace find its way back in.
One heart at a time.
One act of kindness at a time 🌍

This year took a lot from many of us.
It tested faith.
It stretched patience.
It asked for strength we didn’t know we had.

So as it ends,
I don’t ask for perfection.
I don’t ask for ease.

I ask for healing.
For mercy.
For rest.
For hope to stay a little longer 🤍

And if nothing else,
may we enter the next chapter
with softer hearts,
gentler hands,
and the courage to keep believing
that better days are still possible ✨

03/01/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/17xMZgmWjx/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Be proud of how far you have come especially when no one was watching. You have faced silent battles and heavy days with a heart that still chooses to be kind. Even if the world does not see your struggle your strength is real and it deserves to be celebrated. Keep holding on to your light. 💛

01/01/2026

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If your child doesn’t make their bed, wash their dishes, do their laundry, or keep their backpack organized, it isn’t “just a phase.”
It’s a sign that the habits of responsibility haven’t been built yet.
Your child isn’t lazy.
They’ve simply learned that someone else will always step in and take care of things. And when that happens often enough, responsibility slowly disappears. Not because they can’t do it—but because they’ve never been expected to.
Too many teens grow up without managing their own space or contributing at home. Not from lack of ability, but because they were constantly rescued, excused, or overlooked. Over time, they begin to expect life to work the same way—easy, forgiving, and always cleaned up by someone else.
But those small, everyday tasks aren’t really about cleanliness.
They’re training for life.
Making the bed.
Washing a plate.
Organizing a bag.
These are lessons in structure, accountability, and self-respect.
A real story
A mother once shared that her 17-year-old son had never made his bed.
Her reason?
“Poor guy, he’s in school all day. He’s tired when he gets home.”
One weekend, he stayed home alone.
By the third day, his room looked like a storm had passed through. The bed became a nest, dishes piled up, and even basic self-care was ignored.
When his mother returned, he said quietly:
“I didn’t know where to start.”
He wasn’t incapable.
He was unprepared.
A moment of reflection for parents
Instead of scolding, pause.
Look at your child’s space and ask yourself:
Am I raising my child for comfort—or for life?
What lessons am I avoiding today that life will demand from them tomorrow?
Practical parenting shifts
Start small. One daily habit, like making the bed before leaving home, builds discipline and pride.
Don’t reward the basics. Cleaning up after oneself isn’t a bonus—it’s self-respect.
Be consistent. When they resist, stay steady. Character is built through consistency, not comfort.
And most importantly, don’t step in and do it for them again. Not even once.
Because a child who never learns to manage their space may struggle later to manage their life.
Every habit left unbuilt becomes a weight they’ll carry into adulthood—sometimes one heavy enough to break them.
Raise children who are prepared for life,
before life is forced to teach them the hard way.

01/01/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1FPayppqRy/?mibextid=wwXIfr

It’s okay if the only thing you did this year was survive 🤍
That alone is not small. That alone is not failure. That alone took more strength than most people will ever see.

Some years aren’t about growth you can measure or goals you can show off. Some years are about getting out of bed when your heart feels heavy. About holding yourself together when everything feels uncertain. About choosing to stay, even when leaving would’ve felt easier 🕊

You may not have crossed everything off your list. You may not feel proud in the loud, obvious way people expect. But you’re here. Breathing. Still trying. Still caring. And that matters more than you realize 🌱

There were days you didn’t think you’d make it through — yet you did. Quietly. Without applause. Without anyone fully understanding how hard it was. You carried sadness, exhaustion, grief, disappointment, and hope all at once. That is not weakness. That is resilience.

Sometimes survival looks like resting instead of pushing. Like saying no instead of explaining. Like choosing peace over proving yourself. Like leaning on someone, or simply leaning on the moment until it passes 🤍

You don’t need to justify why this year took so much out of you. You don’t need to compare your struggles to anyone else’s. Pain isn’t a competition. Healing isn’t a race. And strength doesn’t always look brave — sometimes it looks tired, gentle, and still standing.

If all you managed was to keep going, that is enough.
If all you could do was get through it, that is enough.
If you’re ending this chapter softer, slower, and more aware of your limits — that is wisdom 🌿

Sit with that truth for a moment.
Let it settle.
Let it comfort you.

You didn’t fail this year.
You lived through it.
And that counts — more than you know 🤍

22/12/2025

Here we are on the brink of Christmas, whilst also reeling from the evil atrocities committed by a father and son towards innocent people.
As a counsellor, I am asked questions in the vein of,
“How can we respond/retaliate/recover” …..
Firstly, it’s important to realise hate breeds hate, anger breeds more anger, and evil behaviour meets more violence. And more.
So what can we do? You may ask how can one person make a difference?
In actual fact, each person is like a ripple in a pond. If we treat ourselves and others in any of the following ways, we start to see the ripple effect. “From little things big things grow.”
Think about these behaviours, and as you treat others in these ways, see how you start to feel, and maybe recognise any shifts in the person you’re connecting with.
⁃ kindness
⁃ patience
⁃ grace
⁃ Gentleness
⁃ Listen carefully
⁃ Love
⁃ Joy
⁃ Peace
⁃ Faithfulness
⁃ Goodness
⁃ Self control
I hope encouraging yourself to practice any of the above helps you find the peace and joy you are searching for right now. And the people you are connecting with.

22/12/2025

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Life slowly teaches us this truth, often through quiet moments like this one.
Not through achievements, applause, or perfection—
but through simple presence and gentle kindness.

The world may celebrate success, popularity, and titles,
but the heart remembers something else entirely.
It remembers who sat beside us when we felt small.
Who stayed when we were tired.
Who loved us without needing us to be more than we already were.

Being real means showing up as you are—
with flaws, worries, and unfinished pieces.
Being humble means knowing you don’t have to shine louder than others.
And being kind means choosing softness
in a world that often pushes hardness instead.

Look at the quiet comfort here.
No audience. No reward.
Just warmth shared on a cold day.
Just care offered without conditions.
Just two souls finding peace in simply being together.

In the end, this is what lasts.
Not what we owned.
Not how perfect we seemed.
But how we made others feel safe, seen, and loved.

Life isn’t about becoming impressive.
It’s about becoming gentle.
And that kind of richness never fades. 🤍🧸

22/12/2025

Consistency in authenticity beats comparison every time. 🔥

18/12/2025

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18/12/2025