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Her life has brought its share of service, but it\u2019s also brought heartbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For years, she and her husband dreamed of retiring to Tennessee. But life had other plans. Family responsibilities mounted. Loved ones fell ill. They said goodbye to those they loved, one by one, until finally, it was time for them to move. He had been cancer-free for three years. They started packing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Six weeks later, she lost him to melanoma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt felt like the rug had been ripped out from under everything we planned,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I couldn\u2019t stay in that place of pain. I had to keep going. I had to live for both of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She moved to California for a while to be closer to family. But Tennessee, and the dream they never got to share, kept calling. In 2023, she answered it, this time alone. She arrived in Lebanon, a town she had only known in passing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome people thought I was crazy starting over at this stage in my life,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t want to live wondering \u2018what if?\u2019 Life\u2019s too short for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Woody immediately plugged into the Wilson County Volunteer Network, a nonprofit organization that responds to disasters, helps the unhoused access resources, and mobilizes volunteers for essential work. From volunteering at the Hope Shop to organizing food distributions, giving haircuts, and delivering supplies, there\u2019s always a way to help. And Woody always finds it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s a regular at First Fridays at Life Church, greeting every person with kindness as she hands out essentials. When hurricanes hit the region last fall, she was one of the first to show up at the Lebanon Fire Department\u2019s relief drive \u2014 standing shoulder to shoulder with a local trucking company day after day, loading and delivering supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And still, she rarely talks about any of it. She\u2019d rather uplift those around her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are good people here,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople who want to help. They just don\u2019t always know where to start. I always tell them, \u2018You don\u2019t have to do much. Just do what you can.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her time in Wilson County, Woody has seen both the beauty and the brokenness \u2014 how glaring the gap is between those who have and those who don\u2019t. But the people who come for help, she said, have left the deepest impression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey\u2019re so grateful and kind. That\u2019s what struck me most.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s part of why she\u2019s fallen in love with Lebanon. Beneath the surface, she\u2019s found a community of compassionate people who care and just need someone to show them the way. And that\u2019s precisely what she does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you ask her what keeps her going, she\u2019ll tell you humbly, \u201cHelping others\u2026 it pulls you out of yourself,\u201d she reflected. \u201cYou stop dwelling on your own problems. You start to realize how blessed you really are. And more than anything, you start to feel connected to something bigger than you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At 70, she knows she can\u2019t fix everything. But she also knows people don\u2019t always need something grand. Sometimes, they just need a warm meal. A conversation. A helping hand. A reminder that they matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be a life-saving difference,\u201d she said. \u201cAny difference is worth making.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cindy Woody doesn\u2019t just talk about community. She lives it \u2014 in every simple, faithful act of kindness. She doesn\u2019t do it for the applause or attention but because it\u2019s who she is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And for anyone still wondering if and how they can really make an impact, she offers this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/lebanon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/09\/2-1024x683.jpg\")