By MAD21
I love Random Acts of Kindness. Not in the humanist way exactly, because I think they do it for different reasons. I think when a Christian practices these random acts, it should be with the motivation that the person on the receiving end of those acts of kindness would see Jesus through them. In other words, the act of kindness is not about you, but is about the other person and what Christ can do for them.
I wonder, however, if acts of kindness shouldn't be... random. As one of the God-given fruits of the spirit, maybe we should look outside of ourselves more often and actually look for times when we can show kindness to others.
Do They See His Love For Them?
Fellow-blogger, Annie (Buzz By Annie's) wrote a great post this past Sunday called, "Lessons From the Checkout Line" where she talks about an experience she had when she was in a hurry and was faced with being forced to slow down and listen to someone who obviously needed it, the cashier. As I stated in a comment on her post, I think it's important when we are in a hurry or have our own agenda not to forget the people who come into our paths. I have to remind myself of that all the time.
I had a similar thing happen to me as Annie did this week. I had just finished grocery shopping and loaded it all into my car. I ran into a friend of mine as I was about to get into the car and we started chatting. The next thing we knew, a guy walked up to us who was obviously living in hard times (to say the least).
This gentleman stood talking to us for more than five minutes. It was a little uncomfortable, but I kept telling myself this was a man who obviously needed to be heard. So my friend and I waited patiently for him to be done and then we politely excused ourselves and wished him well.
After he walked away my friend looked at me and expressed how "weird that was." I just simply said, "Everyone has a story, I guess he needed someone to listen to his."
Just knowing someone cares can change a life.
I think it is SO important that our children see us being kind to others. It speaks volumes to them about how we are supposed to treat each other. That same day while in the grocery store with my youngest, an older woman dropped an entire container of grape tomatoes on the floor. They went everywhere. I was the only one around except for a store employee at the end of the isle. Without thinking, I stopped what I was doing and walked over and helped her pick them all up and put them back into the container. I took it to the store employee who acted oblivious to what was happening except to say, "Thanks for cleaning it up." The woman was so shocked that I helped her and was obviously very embarrassed. I said, "Hey, that's ok. It happens to all of us at some point, right?" She was so happy. It was very sweet.
I got back to my cart along with my youngest and asked her what was next on the list. She said, "Mommy? Why you help her?" I was a little surprised because I hadn't thought much of it. I said, "Well, sometimes we all need a little help, don't we?" She said, "Yup. Broccoli next... ooo carrots, can we have carrots?" So even though the moment was a short one, it was nice to know that my kids do see me doing something right every now and then.
It means something to them.
My youngest is a master at practicing random acts of kindness. Yes, she has her bad days just like any almost four-year-old. But I am constantly amazed at how much she thinks of others in her day. Something as simple as offering to take her older sister's yogurt lid to the trash can for her, or sharing part of her much-coveted cookie or grapes with whomever happens to be nearby, or giving you the best hug you've ever received. I love the joy I see in her face when she does these things for others. And she's young enough that her motives are still (mostly) pure. Her genuine desire to make your day brighter convicts me every time to do the same for others.
What have you done for others lately? For no other reason except that you saw someone who could use some help or some loving words? Go. Show Jesus' love to someone.
This post is a participant in a blog carnival over at Bridget Chumbley's One Word at a Time.
Be sure to go and check out what everyone else wrote on: Kindness.