SALT LAKE CITY — If rainy days and Mondays always get you down, you've come to the right place for a pick-me-up.

Each week, KSL.com compiles inspiring stories from our readers, and they've proven to give people a lift.

If you're in need for a little Monday medicine, read the following:

Simple recognition

Susan P.

"I believe God speaks to us every day. I pray every morning and ask God what I can do to serve Him that day. I had a feeling that I needed to seek out those who work hard and go unnoticed and get to know them better. ... Well, that day I started to notice a sweet man who passes meal trays. He always leaves extras for the nurses. He does it quietly. He never expects a thank you. ... I realized that I had worked with this man for a very long time and accepted his extra meal trays numerous times.

"Then I realized that I didn't even know his name. I found out, and I make a habit to say his name each time I see him. To let him know how appreciated he is, and to make him feel like more than the nameless man who passes trays ... I asked my coworkers to nominate him for an award. They did, and he won. He was so giddy and happy and proud. He talked about it every time he saw me for two weeks. But tonight was different. Tonight he gave a very thoughtful 'thank you.'

"He had tears in his eyes as he told me that not only was he so happy and touched to finally be recognized, but his wife has been hospitalized for heart surgery, and the cash reward as well as the lift in his spirit came at exactly the right time. His eyes were tearful but he smiled so big."

Share Your Story:

Have you seen any moments of service or kindness? Do you want to share a story about something that made your day? Email a brief story (100 words or fewer) along with any photos or video to <a href="mailto:crosenlof@ksl.com">mchristensen@ksl.com</a>.

Going above and beyond expectations

DownEast Basics employee

"We had a girl come into our store a few weeks ago shopping for a mission. She was bound and determined to get all that she needed to go and serve in Korea in this single trip. She had several items when we opened up a dressing room for her and told her about our style package deal and how it would help save her a bunch of money. She was very excited about it since she would be buying a lot of clothes.

"More and more items were added to the dressing rooms until she felt she found all that she needed. We were fairly busy when she was ready to check out, so both Claire and I were working the registers. I was helping her on register two, and Claire was ringing other customers on register one. Since it would take a while to ring up all her items and remove the security tags, I just started asking her questions about the mission.

"... We talked for several minutes when the customer who was being rang up on register one began to join in in the conversation. She was shopping with three young daughters getting ready for the warmer weather. She was also excited that this young lady was getting ready to serve a mission and talked about how she had served one herself.

"Then out of the blue, the lady leaned over to our register and told her that she would be paying for her purchase. Tears started to flow from the young girl's eyes and tried to explain to the lady that it was going to be very expensive and she didn’t have to do this. The lady was very firm on her decision and just told her that she thought it was a great decision she made to serve a mission and that she was being a great example for her girls. Finally, all the security tags had been removed and all the tags rung up.

"Even with the 20 percent off, her total was over $500. The young girl again told her that she didn’t have to pay for her and again she told her she wanted to."

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