Kindness is defined as "of a good or benevolent nature or disposition; considerate and helpful."  Love and kindness go hand in hand, for when we love as we should, we want to be a help to the object of our affection.  Love seeks to ease the burden of someone else by displaying acts of kindness.  Sometimes it's as simple as a hug or a smile, but often, it goes even further. 

I'm honored and humbled to say I've been the recipient of such kindness this week.  For the past several days, my back has been having one of its flare-ups, which causes me great pain and makes it nearly impossible to get comfortable.  Because of my discomfort, I missed two church services.  The day following one of my absences, two of the ladies from church contacted me to let me know they missed me and were praying for me.  How sweet is that?  Sure, it was a simple thing for them to do, but it was a HUGE thing to me.  It blessed my heart to know I was missed and that prayers were being sent up to Heaven on my behalf.  That's love!

With Jason's new work routine, he works an 8:30-5:30 schedule (more or less) on Mondays and Fridays and 4-2 on Tuesdays through Thursdays.  Despite the different timing, he felt it would be of the most benefit to get to bed and get up at roughly the same time each day.  So, on the days he doesn't start work until 8:30, he tries to get up around 5:00.  He uses the time to practice his bass and do some odd jobs around the house.  

This morning, he noticed some light bulbs that needed to be replaced and set out to do that.  By the time he was done, he had taken the entire dining room chandelier apart and cleaned it.  "When I went to change the bulbs," he said, "I realized how dirty it was and figured I could go ahead and take care of that for you.  I know how difficult it is for you to reach it with your shoulder issues."  The truth is, I could have gotten a chair or the stepstool out at any time in the past and cleaned the chandelier, but I didn't.  (No comments about my housekeeping skills. . . or lack thereof.)  My point is, Jason saw a need and acted on it.  He didn't have to.  He could have just changed the bulbs and gone on his way, but he went above and beyond.  That's kindness.  That's love.

The psalmist declared that the kindness of the Lord was better than life (Psalm 63:3).  I don't know that we can say the same about our kindness, but I know this to be true:  our kindness can make a difference in someone's life.  A gentle word.  A loving touch.  A helpful deed.  These simple things can have a huge impact on someone.  In fact, such acts of kindness have even been known to save lives.  Kindness makes a difference.

In the previous post, we learned that love is patient.  Today, we see that it is kind.  In short, love looks for the opportunity to do for others.  It seeks ways to be helpful and compassionate.  I'm happy to say I've seen love in action this week.  My prayer is that others have seen it from me as well.