Brenda’s Blog – April 23, 2019
“Kindness is an intentional way of life.”
The featured guest on Hallmark Channel’s Home and Family program spoke of living kindness every day. Her comment about intentionality sparked my interest. For years the “random acts of kindness” campaign has filled the air. Each time I hear it, I mentally object saying, “That is okay, but to be truly kind, you have to have a strategy. “ It must be part of a lifestyle.
As a child I memorized (in the King James Version, of course) “be ye kind, one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Years later I see kindness as a choice, as a part of being a mature, healthy adult.
“Be a blessing” is part of my familial DNA. It was repeatedly spoken to me in my home. And, now I try to build that into my grandchildren. Recently, I dropped my 20 year old grandson for his day. He got out of the car, turned, and said, “I know, Gram, be a blessing!” When he was in early elementary school we had “blessing day.” On one occasion I gathered a bag of loose change, picked him up, and drove to a local outdoor strip mall. We walked up and down the sidewalk depositing coins in obvious, but unexpected places. With each we would smile knowing how happy we were making someone who found the coin. We laughed as we thought of the person who found the quarter. To a 5 year old that was an enormous find!
Making a decision to live with a kind heart requires yielding to the great, holy God who through His own kindness brings us to repentance, as the Apostle Paul tells us in Romans. Walking in the expectancy of brightening someone’s day with a soft answer, a sweet smile, an encouraging word brings hope to both us and the recipient. Proverbs tells us when we water another we are also watered.
Let us be people of blessing and kindness, spreading the joy of the Lord.