Extraordinary Kindness!
“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Eph 4:32 NLT
A big thing in our home is kindness. Just be kind. Be as kind as possible. In our family, if you cant be kind you better pray yourself into kindness. Our family chooses kindness and sometimes we choose it when it’s really hard.
We are not perfect but we strive to be kind all the time.
So, when Ellie pushed a friend down 25 steps I was really confused about where we went wrong. The friend is fine and there is no lawsuit. However, how is it that my kid is the one sending a friend flying down a flight of steps? We teach kindness constantly. All three kids had the same story. They were playing tag too close to the stairs and when Ellie tagged the friend she tagged a little too hard. However, the first thing I shouted at Ellie was “THAT IS NOT KIND!!” This was before I knew the story. Before I knew my child would not grow up to be on America’s most wanted.
An interesting piece of information about me is that I’m not easily optimistic. Naturally, I see the glass half empty. I have to work so hard to keep a positive outlook and mindset. I can easily go from feeling optimistic about life to all of a sudden allowing panic and worry to consume me. I’m constantly talking myself out of a negative thought. However, I’m mostly naturally kind. I have my days. I’m not perfect but I’m more kind then not. Because I’m not easily optimistic I completely understand how difficult it is for some of us who are not easily kind. So when I say what I say next know I’m not judging you. We all have our struggle. I’m on the struggle bus with you. I might be struggling in a different way but I’m no different then you. Here I go…
If it’s not kind don’t say it.
If it’s not kind don’t post it.
If it’s not kind try really really hard not to think it.
If you can’t be kind on social media get rid of it. It’s that simple.
If you can’t speak without saying something unkind then carry a bag of large marshmallows around and just keep stuffing them in your mouth all day. Your blood sugar won’t drop and you definitely won’t say anything unkind. If you do no one will understand you anyway.
If you struggle to think kind thoughts start writing kind thoughts down.
“The islanders showed us extraordinary kindness. They kindled a fire and welcomed all of us because it was raining and cold.” Acts 28:2
I love where it says “extraordinary kindeness!” Their kindness was not displayed in the usual way. However, the islanders kindness was extraordinarily shown. Their kindness went above and beyond.
There is a post on social media floating around about a missing stuffed animal. Someone saw the post and because there was information on where it was left, a nearby person who works at a salon found it. She contacted the owner and told them where they could retrieve their lost floppy friend. While she waited for them to arrive she gave the stuffed pet a spa treatment and documented the entire spa day for the little friend to see. Talk about going the extra mile in kindness. It was kind just to notify the owner but to go out of your way to treat a stuffed pet to a spa day just so his little friend can smile, now that’s extraordinary kindness.
Can we go above and beyond in our kindness? Can we stop the name calling? Can we be more understanding to others? Can we take others feelings into consideration? Can we smile more, open a door, pay for the person in front of us because for some reason they don’t have all the money they need? Can we show the love of Christ to those who don’t walk the same way we do? It’s ok to disagree but can we disagree in a kind manner?
I’m not sure who said it but I like the following quote…
Kindness is free, sprinkle it everywhere!
Can we please just be more kind? Please! Seriously! Please! Can we be more kind? Even if like me kindness comes pretty naturally we can still find a way to be even more kind. If 2021 needs anything it needs more of us to stand up and go the extra mile in kindness. 2021 needs us to show kindness in an extraordinary way. Together let’s bring kindness to life in 2021.
Shine4Him 