The Giving Thanks Post Wednesday

I am grateful for the kindness of strangers. I once had a Bible Study teacher who told us to "Practice Random Acts of Kindness". It was a challenge . She even printed little cards and laminated them for us. I kept mine on my bulletin board for many many years. And I tried and I still try to be kind to strangers. I try to be kind to the waitress who is having a rough night, to the nurse who is taking my blood, to the cashier at the grocery store, to the person who arrived at the stop sign at the same time as me. I give these smiles, make eye contact, say big thank yous because of three things. First, Jesus calls us to love one another. And I can never love anyone the way He loves any of us. Secondly, I know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of random acts of kindness. I have been the tired working mother at the grocery store whose toddler throws things out to have someone big it up. I have been the oblivious shopper who dropped her wallet to have it returned. I have been the mother caught in a rainstorm to whom someone gave me their umbrella. I have been the only car turning left in an impossible traffic jam who was let out by a kind soul. I am thankful for these little moments of kindness from strangers. I am thankful for the opportunities God gives me to choose to pass the kindness on to others. I hope that I can obey more often.