First Baptist Church of Herndon

Too Kind

Linda Soller | May 13, 2019

I’d like to think people want to be kind. There is some effort involved. The adjective “kind” means sympathetic, gentle, and benevolent. I think of it as selfless. A kind person puts the feelings and wellbeing of others before their own. You can be kind in your actions and/or your words. You know that person who always asks, “How things are going?”, “Are you feeling better?”, “We sure missed you while you were out.”, and so on. They are sincere and leave you feeling cared about. I would like to be more that way.

Not long ago I was emailing with a co-worker about some forms. I wished her well with a history class she was going to take. Naturally, I had to tell her I majored in history in college. The next thing you know I was telling her why I think it is so important to study history. The way I see it she had two options. She could have said, “Yes well, thanks for the help with the papers, I better get back to work.” Or she could do what she did which was tell me what I said made a difference in how she would approach her class. I felt great. It was kind of her to validate my opinion. But our conversation didn’t stop there, and as she reflected to one of our earliest encounters she told me how positively it had impacted her. By the end of our email conversation I was nearly in tears. Her kind words made such a difference in my day.

I think for kindness to have the desired impact it must be sincere. You hold a door because you think it is the right thing to do, not because you have nothing better to do. You write a note because you value the recipient and want to spend your precious time expressing how much you care. You smile at a stranger because you want them to feel noticed, even though you maynever see them again. We rarely stop and think about why we are being kind, but know, the simplest act of kindness can start a chain reaction. What I know for sure is that you can never be too kind!    

Have a great week! :o) Linda

Thanks Delores for your kind words.