Proverbs 19:17
17 Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.
Colossians 3:12
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Galatians 6:10
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Acts 28:2
2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.
Romans 12:10
10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Twenty-six years ago this past August my husband and I moved to the town that we currently live in. Our move came with mixed emotions. We were excited because this move was due to a promotion that my husband
had received, and we had prayed and prayed for this. It would mean more money for our family, and since I was seven months pregnant with our first and only child it would definitely come in handy. We had decided beforehand that when and if, we were blessed with a child, that I would stay home to care for our little one.
Although the promotion was what we had prayed for, we really missed our church family in Texas that we loved so dearly. We had so many wonderful friends there, that we actually grieved being away from them. These were established friendships that we had enjoyed for several years. Our church family was such a big part of our life. We not only went to church with these people, we did life with them outside of the church as well.
When my husband and I moved we knew that we had to get plugged into a church immediately. One Sunday night after visiting a church here in town for a few weeks, a couple came over to us and said that their Life Group was going to be stopping by a local Braums for ice cream. They asked if we wanted to join them. Well, they had us at ice cream, so of course, we agreed to join them. This was our first invite to anything, and we were excited to make new friends.
When we arrived at the restaurant, my husband sat with the guys and I sat with the ladies and visited. Everyone was so kind to us. That night they also invited us to come one Sunday evening to check out their Life Group Bible Study. We joined them the following week, and we decided that it was the perfect group for us. We didn’t have to look a bit further.
Until this day, twenty-six years later we are still friends with the people who were in that Life Group. All of this started with one simple act of kindness.
Many times we go through life rushed and in a zone, focusing only on ourselves and our own agenda, and we fail to look around at the opportunities to extend a little kindness and joy to someone else. You never know what your one act of kindness can mean to someone else’s life.
I encourage you to seek opportunities to extend kindness to someone each and every day. By doing this, you become the difference-maker in their life. Sometimes the smallest things can make the biggest difference to others.
That simple invitation to have ice cream that Sunday night, has blessed my family over and over again. Who will you choose to be kind to this week? I know that we are all having to practice social distancing right now due to Covid,
but we can make phone calls, we can zoom and we can send sweet cards in the mail. Why not make a list of the many things that you can do, that will not require physical contact during this strange season that we all find ourselves in right now. When you see an opportunity your list will be ready, for you to select the appropriate act of kindness for that particular situation.
Remember, the wonderful thing about spreading kindness is that you can’t bless others without being blessed yourself. Have a great week spreading kindness everywhere you go!
