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Column: Kindness is a gift we can offer to each other

Kindness never goes out of style. Kindness towards one another in a family is generally expected but often not seen in our everyday working lives. However, I had a wonderful moment the other day, and it was not only refreshing but a spiritual blessing.

Picture this: the day before the fourth, I was, like many others, trying to shop and prepare for the holiday. I was running late as it was and, to my short-sighted amazement, found I was almost out of gas. I saw some pumps in the distance and pulled into a gas station. I approached the pump and put my plastic credit card into the appropriate opening, hoping to fill it as quickly as possible. I noticed my card was not working; it always worked; what was wrong? In my immediate haste, I got another credit card out to pay for the gas.

To my anxiety and growing anxiousness, my credit card would not come out of the port I had put it in. I tried multiple times to retrieve it, but it would not budge. I was trying to figure out what to do. I would have to leave the car and card at the pump and go seek help.

For a moment, I was disorientated by fear and disbelief. I was in a situation I had not foreseen and was dazed by the immediate need for help.

As I started walking towards the attendant’s office, a person came around from the other side of the pump. She was petite, perfectly trim, with cropped white hair and a beaming smile.

She said, “Let me help you.” She came to the pump and dislodged my card. How, I do not know. She then asked me to put the other credit card I had in my hand. It worked perfectly, and then she said, “Let’s get you five cents off a gallon.” She punched in her code, and I was fueling at a discount. I was thrilled, to say the least. When I turned around to thank her, she was gone. I felt like I had had a superhero interaction, or was she an angel sent to help me out of an awful situation?

I got in my car and drove home, thinking and thanking God for His help this frustrating day. I was tired and worn from shopping and recalling the many items I needed to complete the holiday. But I also became aware of how God’s grace works. This person appeared out of nowhere and, with great kindness, helped me. It was a blessed situation.

I recalled the event over and over that afternoon, amazed and most thankful.

How do we forget that kindness is a manifestation of grace in our lives? Grace is on the part of the one helping, and grace is on the one receiving.

St. Matthew’s gospel tells us that God watches over us in the smallest details.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet none of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” ( Matt. 10:29-31).

God is with us and offers opportunities to help others. Chances to manifest care to family, friends, or strangers. When we have been the recipient of that grace, it makes us feel very special.

The woman who came to my aid that afternoon was full of kindness. The incident of a credit card gone astray became a blessing that someone I did not know and would probably never see again helped me.

Goodness dwells in the human heart. The situation could have turned out so different, but instead, it was proof that God cared for me and showed me that He dwells in his people.

Kindness to others and help are among the many ways He is present in our everyday lives.

Kindness is a gift we can offer to each other. Small gestures can make your day and reinforce that God’s love often has a human face. These gifts of kindness are blessings to the giver and the receiver. We are children of God, and He is right with us, with mercy and love, every day.

Amen.

Kathleen Carlton Johnson, Ph.D., is a hospice chaplain.

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