The Spice of Life

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

I shared a delicious lunch with a friend recently. A TV on the wall was broadcasting all the bad news and political ads. We were talking about how you can just feel the upset in the world and how conflict, fear, and anger seem to be peppering many conversations we are hearing these dayswhen we’re out and about. People we encounter are angry, upset, and distracted, and these feelings can be contagious.

Our server that day was different. He was a friendly, open person who was genuinely interested in us. He spent more time than usual at our table asking us about what we were doing that day, and we had a great conversation about all kinds of things! We learned a lot about each other in just a few minutes, because he was so kind to us, and he felt like a friend not a stranger. It really made a difference in our day just having a stranger show kindness in a surprising way.

During lunch my friend pulled this fortune out of their wallet that that had been saved from the week prior. The fortune says, “Surprise a stranger with a kind gesture.” It’s a timely reminder in these challenging days when we are more likely to look upon a stranger with suspicion and disregard them. My friend saved the fortune as an intentional reminder to be kind not just to our loved ones but to strangers we encounter in our day. Small acts of kindness can make a big difference and even change people’s lives and the world one by one. Kindness can pepper our conversations and our lives with joy, relief, and peace in the midst of fear of the unknown. Kindness is the spice of life.

 Be kind, Pastor Andrea