Showing kindness is becoming more and more rare. When someone shows kindness I am surprised at the unexpected display. Even a smile is difficult to coax out of people anymore.

We are relatively new here in Oklahoma and so our sphere of acquaintances is limited. There are just a lot of adjustments when you move to a new area. I realize that over and over again. We are starting our 3rd year here and so I’m sick of thinking it and my family and close friends are probably weary of hearing it too. However, we lived in the Indianapolis area for twenty three years, the kids grew up there, so you can imagine the memories and ties we have to our “home” town and understand my angst with each new challenge we face.

When Lauren was sick a few weeks ago and needed a doctor’s attention, she was uninsured. With the delay of her insurance effective date, she had not established a physician of yet. We were torn as to how to handle the situation, not really knowing how serious her condition was. With our history, it was all very unpleasant and heart wrenching. Looking back, she had been sick for about a week, yet we tried to go on with life, she and I went to youth camp, thinking she’d be OK. We went to the camp physician three times to no avail. It was eerily similar to what we went through with BJ, so I HAD to get her in to see someone.

Our pastor gave us two names – one of a prominent man in our church and his best friend, a doctor in the area. This same man is one who came to our rescue when we needed chain saw work on our trees after a storm, he’s a real servant, he practices kindness. Anyway, I called Larry who then called his doctor friend. Within 30 minutes we were at the doctor’s office. She got a chest x-ray, was diagnosed with pneumonia, was given some samples of medicine and was to recheck in a few days. We didn’t check out in the usual way, we were not charged for the visit. Wow. Indeed, it was a rare and most generous show of kindness.

I sent Larry and Dr. Roller thank you cards but it seemed lame. Their kind actions touched me so much. Larry called several times to see how Lauren was progressing and that meant a lot too. It was reminiscent of the care we received at St. Vincent’s with BJ. Thank the Lord it was not an outrageous illness this time, but the care of the medical professionals is a fond and precious memory.

Sometimes it cost us something to show kindness, but more often than not, showing kindness blesses the giver even more. Being kind brings healing and hope to our despairing souls. And it doesn’t even matter how big the display of kindness is – a cup of cool water, a smile, a listening ear, an understanding nod, noticing someone needs help and stepping in. At camp, a teenager saw me struggling with my luggage and carried it up the stairs for me.

Proverbs talks about kindness a lot. It turns away wrath, it gains respect, it benefits a person, it cheers us up, it brings blessing and it honors God.

Now you can’t wait to go out and show someone a random act of kindness, right?

Deanna