Kindness

I was recently at a water aerobics class and we were asked to swim to the side of the pool to get our weights.  I reached for mine and for another set of weights that were close to mine.  I asked who they belonged to and handed them to a gentleman class member.  He frowned slightly and stated, "I don't want to owe anyone."  I was a little surprised as I did not know who they belonged to but wanted to get them for someone else to save them some time and effort.  I was sad because this individual did not know how to accept a kindness graciously.

There was a quote I read from a church sign.  "Kindness is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back!  Two opposite viewpoints about kindness to think about!  I believe I would err to the side of kindness because it is free, offered from the heart and makes us feel good inside.  I remember one time I had given a neighbor a crib for her grandchildren that I no longer needed.  About 10 years later, I was going to have my first grandchild.  I heard a knock at the door and my neighbors were returning the crib to me with a new mattress because they no longer needed it.  At the time, I was laid off my job and had no money to buy one.  I had never asked for them to return it.  Now I needed it and it was in better condition than when I gave it to them.  I was so happy because I did not have to store it for 10 years and now I could use it for my granddaughter.  What a blessing!  Kindness always pays off when we give it time.  God's time, not ours.  Kindness is God's blessing reaching out to us throughout our day and our life.  Let us begin to prioritize being kind to others and just watch the blessings flow back to us!

Living Example of Faith

I have seen several versions of this thought. "Your deeds and example are the only sermon some people hear."  Another book stated, "Sometimes the only bible people read is your life."  This idea helps us realize that the best way to share your faith is to live it.  Many people of many faiths talk, preach, evangelize and promote their faith using media, churches, sermons, sales of books and pamphlets, door to door encounters, theatrics, and confrontation.  Others silently follow their own heart and beliefs and quietly live their lives with integrity, compassion, courage, and dignity.  They refuse to compromise because of donations, power, superiority, political correctness, or out of fear of criticism.  God and love of their "neighbor" (other human beings of any faith, culture, sexual orientation, country, economic level, skin color, disability, political party, etc) take the forefront in their decisions on how to behave.  The example of courtesy, kindness, forgiveness, active listening, honesty, fairness, compromise, and inclusion create an atmosphere of trust and acceptance.  Some people have lost their lives because of this focus on living faith rather than verbalizing faith without action and conviction.  God loves us unconditionally.  It is difficult for us to love others unconditionally but it is one of the most awesome ways to promote faith in God and bring hope to a world torn by anger, denial, vindictiveness, fear, war, gangs, suffering, hunger, pain which are all evidenced by the absence of love.  Love is the only answer to give the world hope.  Love with action is powerful.  With the help of God, anything is possible!

Today is the first day of the rest of your life!

I was visiting with friends who have become entrenched with dieting.  They have exercise monitors, diet guidelines, look up all foods for calorie content and worry about everything they eat.  It was very frustrating for them to find they were not losing weight at all or very slowly.  Due to disappointment, they decided to splurge and worry about dieting "next week."  I can relate as I am trying to lose weight also.

Many times we have lofty expectations for ourselves and when the bar is extremely high, it is often impossible to achieve our goals.  Sometimes we have to accept our limitations, regroup and begin again with more attainable goals.  Today we can start with being less judgmental of ourselves and others and step forward to stop eating excessively,  stop smoking or using addictive drugs, stop complaining and finding fault with ourselves and others, stop procrastination, stop excessive spending and shopping, stop gambling, stop hurting others with gossip, stop avoiding our lives.  We can identify the addictions of others easily but it is more difficult to find our own.

Today, with God's help, support of our family and friends, church members, support systems, and our own inner resources, we can make today the first day of the rest of our lives!  We just have to fight ourselves, our egos, our pride and our low self esteem.  Today is the day to move forward, one step at a time, with courage and patience! There is nothing stopping us from winning the battle to become who we want to be!