Kindness

"The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."

Galatians 5:22-23

The ills of the world are many and our influence is only tiny. But a bunch of tiny kindnesses can add up and the world can be healed one person, one incident at a time. The other day, an older gentleman kindly held the door open for me at the Post Office. As I passed through, I said to him jauntily, "Why, thank you, Sir!" "No," he said as we walked through the Post Office together, "Thank you. For calling me Sir." Sometimes the smallest gesture can make a difference in another person's day. I was grateful the man held the door for me (Hey, I'm a child of the 50's, still a bit old-fashioned) and the man was grateful he was treated with respect. It's all so little in the over-all scheme of things. But the over-all scheme of things is really just made up of a bunch of little things, isn't it? Today, let's all be aware of the strangers around us. And let's try to treat them with kindness...as friends. Love, heidi

Empathy and compassion

"If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."

Atticus Finch, "To Kill a Mockingbird"

 

I just finished this book (must have read it in school, but that was too long ago!) I read and re-read this sentence over and over because it seems so appropriate to our time right now. As the days inch closer and closer to the election, this is a sentence I need to read and heed. It is so easy to get all hot and bothered by all that is going on but that serves no purpose at all. We are all human beings, trying to do our best as we spin around on this planet. We need to find more empathy for each other if things will ever get better in our world. What if we try to put ourselves in others' shoes when we disagree? What if we try to see things through eyes other than our own? Atticus Finch's advice to young Scout was worthwhile advice in the 1930's and it still is today. We need to love and respect each other. We need to empathize and compromise. We need to walk around in each others skin for a while. Love, heidi

Loving the living...

"How I treat my brothers and sisters from day to day, whether they be Caucasian, African, Asian, or Hispanic; how I react to the sin-scarred wino on the street; how I respond to interruptions from people I dislike; how I deal with ordinary people in their ordinary unbelief on an ordinary day will speak the truth of who I am more poignantly than the pro-life sticker on the bumper of my car."

Brennan Manning, "Reflections for Ragamuffins"

Consider Jesus. Jesus didn't spend three years taking up a cause. Jesus spent his time on earth loving people. All people, from all situations and conditions...including sinners. Especially the sinners. Jesus loved people compassionately, passionately. It isn't enough just to love the people who are not here. We must genuinely love the people who are here, too. Pro-life means loving the living. It's easier to love an embryo than it is the homeless guy on the street or the murderer on death row. But we are called to love all. It's much easier to just put a bumper-sticker on our car. Love, heidi