Taylor Ostergaard and Linsey Zellitti wanted to bless their neighbors and so the two teenage girls decided to bake cookies for their neighbors rather than attend a school dance.

After baking the cookies, the girls set out late that evening. They left the fresh-baked goods only at houses with the lights on. It was 10:30 p.m. when they pounded on the door of one home. The 49-year-old woman inside didn’t answer the door, but she did experience an anxiety attack over the late-night visit. After a trip to the emergency room the next day, the woman decided to sue the girls. And she won.

The judge awarded the plaintiff $900 to cover the emergency room visit. The woman said she wanted the girls to learn a lesson, because they should not have been out late at night running from door to door. “Something bad could have happened to them,” she said.

After the story was published in the Denver Post, hundreds of readers were outraged that the girls were sued for dropping off a plate of cookies and a paper heart for their neighbors. Thousands of dollars poured in to help the girls pay their fine. Their story was reported on national news programs, and the girls appeared on the Saturday edition of Good Morning America. As a result of the publicity, a fund has been set up for the girls' college expenses. Interested donors have the option to contribute to the “Never Forgotten” Scholarship Fund for Columbine High School students.

The girls were rewarded many times over for their act of kindness. The saying “No good deed goes unpunished” is not ultimately true. Even if our attempts to bless others are rejected and unrewarded in this life, God will one day bless us.