“Be kind to one
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave
you.” Ephesians 4:32
One thing I always find myself praying
with my children when we say our prayers at bedtime is to make good choices and
be kind and loving to others. I pray
this because I know how hard it can be to actually do it all the time, even
though it is easy to pray it. I’m not
saying my children and I go around with a scowl being cruel and mean to our
friends, family, and co-workers that we associate with on a daily basis, but
it’s easy to become comfortable with others and not really be fully conscious
of whether or not we are being kind and showing love consistently. It reminds
me of an experience I had today with a co-worker. She was upset and needed to
talk it out. She expressed how rude some
of her other co-workers had been to her by walking into the classroom and
talking loudly to each other while she was trying to lead her small group. Even
the kids noticed and told the teachers, “Shhhh…” I agreed with her that they
should have been more aware of their surroundings and the fact that they were
being disruptive. Knowing the ladies I work with pretty well, I really don’t
think they even realized what they were doing and how it affected the others in
the room, but isn’t that the whole point?
How often do we go about our day, taking care of our duties, without
noticing others around us and how we might be more considerate of them? I get so busy sometimes that I have to stop,
back-up, and start over, realizing I just walked into the room asking questions
without even saying good morning first.
It’s because I’m comfortable, and living on a small island like we do,
the ladies I work with are like my family for 8-10 hours of my day 5 days a
week. Sometimes I even walk in the door at home after work and just start
talking without stopping to give my family members a hug and kiss and simply
say, “Hi, how was your day?” I’m
comfortable with them…just as they are with me.
All the more reason to consider more fully how I interact with them
regularly. If I can be more conscious with those I am closest to, practicing
kindness and tenderheartedness consistently, then it will make it all the
easier to be in the habit of being kind and tender to strangers and
acquaintances and others who really may need to experience a bit of
unconditional love and benefit from it. Bottom line, getting into these kinds
of Godly habits will bless us and others more than we could ever know or even
imagine.
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