This is Day 4 of a 31 day series on Biblical kindness. You can find the rest of the posts here!
“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” ~Lao Tzu
A few days ago, the kids were lucky enough to decorate Easter cookies at Grandma’s.
I always love watching them frost the cookies because of all the hard work and effort the kids put into decorating each cookie.
Blake likes to put multiple layers of frosting on his cookies to the point that no one really wants to eat them because they are so sweet but he’s always so proud of them, you have to eat a bite or 2 in front of him to let him know how great they are. He then smiles radiates confidence and happily skips away. (We always know when Blake is happiest because he skips instead of walks or runs.)
Nora is really into detail. She tries to make each one special and always lets us know who that cookie is for as she is making it. Nora is always very concerned that we “like” her cookies. Once we affirm that yes, they are wonderful she will smile and you can see the confidence building inside her.
For the printable of Micah 6:8 click here!
But what happens when we don’t respond with kindness and mercy?
The other day I snapped at my younger son, David.
David is one of those kids who literally says “Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom.” up to 45 times until you say, “What David?”
Instead of acknowledging him, I snapped and asked what he wanted. He instantly shied away with hurt puppy dog eyes and I felt terrible as he mumbled, “I love you” and ran out of the room.
David has always been very sensitive and his feelings get hurt easily. I quickly apologized and asked for his forgiveness (which I received along with a big hug and a mooch and a boy that was whole again).
Compliments and hurtful comments all contribute to how we view ourselves. What others say and how they act, have an effect on our self-esteem, how we see our lives compared to others, and how we feel.
If I give Nora a kind compliment on her sheep cookie, she feels she is a good artist. If I respond kindly to David’s 42nd “Mom!” he tells me what he wants and feels at peace with life. If Blake thinks that his 5 layers of frosting cookie is delicious, he feels like he created something delicious.
When was the last time you received a compliment from someone you don’t know very well or at all? Did it feel good? Didn’t you feel like you had value?
Today I want to focus on how we treat strangers (although treating everyone with kindness is important). Are you treating everyone you meet with kindness, humility, respect, and without judgment?
One way to show kindness to strangers is by giving a sincere compliment. This is something I’ve really tried to work on with my kids and Nora is the queen of compliments. She will tell you she likes your glasses, socks, the way you sing, how you read a book, and the list goes on and on. Her compliments are sincere and they really do make people feel good. I have often wondered if she’s so good at it because she’s a kid that needs a lot of “verbal” love but either way, it’s really neat as a mom to see her make a stranger smile.
Another way is to offer a smile. Everyone is dealing with stuff . Sometimes a smile can mean so much to someone having a bad day. It costs nothing to do but can completely change how a person feels. My darling one-year-old nephew has the cheesiest, cutest little grin ever. He’s got the baby teeth with a gap between his front teeth just like all of my kids had as babies and every time he smiles (which is a lot, he’s so happy) he brightens the room. He is a delight to be around because you can’t be sad or grumpy when you’ve got that grin making you smile right back at him!
Finally, just as all parents work hard to teach our kids to share, we must share, too! There are so many ways to share our resources with strangers but here are a few that can really make an impact on someone’s life:
*Sponsor a Compassion International Child
*Prepare homeless bags filled with toothpaste, toothbrushes, a snack like a package of crackers, band-aids, mouthwash, deodorant, wet wipes, feminine products, shampoo and conditioner, and a bottle of water. Go through the travel sized aisle and you will get a lot of ideas besides what I’ve listed out. Put your items in gallon-sized Ziploc bags and you are set to go!
*Donate food to a local food pantry. We like to raid our cupboards and fill a bag to donate to others. Sometimes I’ll watch for great sales and stock up our pantry for us and also buy a few extra to donate. It doesn’t cost much and it feels wonderful to help others.
*Go through your closets and pull out everything that you don’t wear or doesn’t fit. This goes for you, your spouse, and kids!
*Have your kids go through their toys. This can be tricky with little ones but is a great lesson for them to learn.
How do you show love, kindness, and humility to strangers?
To see the other posts in this series click here.
Have you enjoyed what you read here today? Do you have friends or other women you know that could benefit from this resource? If so, please do me a favor! I have included the links below to share with other intentional women! They’ll be glad you did!
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