Kindness

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”~ Mark Twain

Being kind is such a testimony to me!!! When I experience the kindness of others, it “nourishes” every part of my being. Sometimes my day starts out so wonderfully when I just sit and reflect on the kindness I have seen or experienced personally. One act of kindness has the “power” to literally change someone’s day or someone’s life.

I can remember when Oprah gave cars to her audience of school teachers. I loved that!!! Seeing the faces of everyone in the audience was so heart-warming.

Not all of us have the ability to give away cars but we all have the capability of being kind!!! I love the quote that I have heard so many times, “Be kind whenever possible. IT’S ALWAYS POSSIBLE.”

Just this week during my quiet time I took the opportunity to praise God for all the kindness I had experienced. God flooded my mind with reflections on the acts of kindness that had come my way in just a few short days. Allow me to share: Last Friday, while at a high school football game, a friend stopped to see if we wanted anything from the concession stand. I asked for popcorn and a Diet Coke. He didn’t have to go out of his way to offer or pay for the refreshments but he did. On Saturday another friend went out of her way to take me and wait with me in a long line to retrieve things I had bought on sale the day before and the wait was long and cold. The next day, I received a random, unsolicited phone call from a long-time friend offering much needed advice and help on a project he knew I was working on and had deadlines due.

Yet still another friend knew it was my dad’s birthday and baked a cake and delivered it to my house for me to take to my dad. Another friend gave me hours of her time to help me do some much needed editing on a book and took the time to introduce me to a friend of hers to help me with future projects. I even received a call from a family member who knew I was planning an annual shopping trip with our daughter and she went out of her way to make sure I received a discount on the hotel where we would be staying. And finally, I received several texts and phone calls from people offering help or just offering encouragement and prayer. As if that wasn’t enough, I received an encouraging card from my sister in “snail mail!”

What does Scripture have to say about kindness?

Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another.”
Proverbs 11:17, “A man who is kind benefits himself.”
2 Thessalonians 3:13, “As for you brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.”
1 John 3:18, “Little children, let us not love in word and talk but in deeds and truth.”
Galatians 6:10, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Romans 15:2, “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.”

The independent acts of kindness this past week did an amazing job of “building me up!” These friends are the kind of people who teach me to live the quote, “A fellow who does things that count, doesn’t usually stop to count!” and they make me extremely grateful and encourage me to go out of my way for others.

Kindness is free! Let it be contagious. Be an “energy drink” for someone. Everyone may not have money to give, but everyone has time and themselves to give. The love I have received has been a teachable moment for me! A reminder in these hectic days of life how “loud” an act of kindness can be.

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