In the early morning of January 2021, we received the most precious welcome to parenthood: a six-lb. 11-oz. baby girl. Since then, I've learned to appreciate God's love and patience for me at a deeper level and with a more complex understanding, and of course, my parents' patience for me as well.
Our resilient child has taught me that it doesn't matter if sometimes, as a new parent, I have no idea what I'm doing—we figure it out as we go and trust God in the process! With that, she still shows us lots of love and grace to keep trying until we get it right.
She is very forgiving and eager to help and sympathize with others when they are hurt. She has gotten hurt. We bumped our heads together while playing, and while both of us felt the pain from that, I would be there to comfort her as her parent and say, “Sorry,” while holding back my pain and putting ice on her head to make sure she was okay. But no more than a few seconds later, she would rub my head too, where we had bumped our heads, and say, " Sorry, Mommy, sorry." This heart of kindness is pure gold, a jewel cushioned and personified by Jesus. It reminds me of this verse: "And He called a child to Himself and set him among them, and said, 'Truly I say to you, unless you change and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of Heaven. So whoever will humble himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven'" (Matthew 18:2–4).
Kindness Habit = Daily Surrender
Making kindness a habit does take daily surrender. Sometimes, it's easier to be kind to strangers and keep moving. But that's not where our fruit really shines. The test comes when we have to show kindness to the people we love, those we interact with regularly, especially when they hurt us. We have to extend forgiveness and love them yet still show kindness. After all, they are also God's children, meaning they are valued and afforded the same grace and love as ourselves!
I've learned that by surrendering the pain in my life to God or anything that can get in the way of me showing love to others, God can give me a new heart with a fresh view of life each day. Like our baby girl, I can forget the pain of yesterday or two minutes ago and forgive and live a new day with joy and kindness. Kindness is love. We show kindness because God loves us. This, in turn, makes me want to extend that same love to others because this kind of living, like Christ, gives me PEACE, and JOY and newness of life each day!
Humble Hat
Like a child, I worry less about negativity and things that bring me down and focus more on my Heavenly Parent's love and kindness He extends to me, which abounds in kindness and grace each day. How refreshing! It's like a cool glass of water on a hot day in dry Alberta (where I'm from)!
Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit that requires little effort yet is very powerful. It's a daily choice. Sometimes, it means putting on our humble hats and getting negativity out of the way so we can show others love. It's not our place to decide who deserves love and kindness and who does not.
Call to Action
I challenge you today and each day going forward to choose at least one thing to make someone smile. You can give someone a rose just to put a smile on their face or share cookies or a meal with people who don't expect it. See, all this takes effort and putting oneself aside. Only through God's grace can He give us the heart to show kindness and love daily, especially when we feel we cannot do it alone. Or, at the very least, you can show kindness by simply passing on a genuine smile that says, "I see you, and I care for you, but best of all, God loves you!"
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman \ Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
This article is the fifth in a series of articles on the fruits of the Spirit. We plan to publish a new one every 1-2 months. The next fruit of the Spirit = GOODNESS.
