“When Kindness Changes Lives”!

I’m getting now to do a little bit more of what I’ve loved to do since I was very young – and that is to take the time to sit and enjoy reading.  When I’d visit my Aunt (a former schoolteacher) in Washington, D.C. in the summer, if she called out to me and I didn’t answer, she’d always say later that she knew that she would find me downstairs reading in the basement.  She subscribed to just about every magazine one could think of and also The Washington Post, so there was always lots from which to choose.
 
So, as I was thinking of what I might share for this week’s devotional on Friday, something on the front cover of the May 2018 Reader’s Digest, which came in today’s mail, caught my attention over the other intended “attention grabbers”. It was “When Kindness Changes Lives”, from The Washington Post  (a-ha! moment).  I’m pretty sure I’ve shared with you in the past a plaque which has always been displayed in the guest bathroom of our homes, which starts “Kindness Is One Of The Greatest Blessings of Life”.  There couldn’t be a more timely reminder of the need for this as we witness daily the lack of kindness being displayed in our culture and around the world, as if this should be the norm.
 
The article focused on four examples of “random acts of kindness, which I won’t cover in full, but noteworthy to mention them, in summary: (1) A 46-year old widow and her 2 teenage children who, in 2011, asked neighbors in her Texas community to perform a random act of kindness on her deceased husband’s November 4 birthday in his honor, who had passed of brain cancer in 2009.  Out of it, a hashtag movement was formed and is flourishing; (2) A high school in Minnesota has a “kindness coordinator”, who has enlisted a series of professional athletes, singers, t.v. personalities, etc., to record short videos about the importance of kindness in their “Kindness Matters”campaign, and they are played before the school’s announcements each day; (3) A New York firefighter on Nov. 17, 2017 set off on a 18-day, 9,500 mile “Highway To Heaven”  road trip to the  58 towns of each of the victims of the October 2017 Las Vegas shooting.  He wanted to honor them by performing an “act of kindness” for the victims’ neighbors; and (4) A Lincoln, Nebraska mom that was so affected by all of the negativity that emerged after the 2016 Presidential election, and felt that maybe she couldn’t fix the world, but she could perhaps do something on a small scale that would affect her city.  So she launched a Facebook group “Make Lincoln Kind Again”, and the “kind” acts of members have been numerous and continuing.  When she had a stroke in January, she was amazed by the kind things that were done for her and her kids by people who barely knew her.
 
I am pretty certain that God’s Word has a little bit to say on the subject of“kindness”, but I could be wrong.  However, I don’t think so.  If you don’t want to take my word for it, check some out for yourself, (Gen. 20:13, Jos 2:12, Ruth:3:10, 1Sam 15:6, 2Sam 2:6, 1Kings3:6, Isa.54:8, Acs28:2, 2Cor6:6, Eph2:7, Col 3:1).  If you choose, please accept my challenge to you for next week - Charlotte’s Kindness Challenge: Perform an “act of kindness” (or more, no limit) for someone each day next week and keep a record for yourself. 
 
Wishing you a very blessings-filled weekend and week to follow. We invite and welcome you to join us Sundays at Grace Harbor for Adult Bible Study at 9:00 a.m., where the Book of Romans (Chapter 7) is currently the study, and Sunday Worship Service and Children’s Sunday School at 10:00 a.m. 
 
Love In Him, Charlotte Adams