Small Acts of Kindness

“And the King will answer, I tell you solemnly, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40

I was reading my copy of the newly arrived July/August, 2021 “Midwest Living”. In it is a story about Ferial Pearson, an Omaha high school teacher. When the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School happened in 2012, Ferial was afraid for her own children, her students and colleagues, and herself. She talked with her own children, and they shared bullying that they had received at school. She began to wonder if the shooter had been shown some kindness, would it have changed what happened.

She began to discuss this with a group of her students enrolled in a special program designed to help them overcome personal obstacles. She asked,  “what would happen if we started secretly delivering small acts of kindness to other students?  Could it change someone’s life?” The students got behind the idea and began to implement small acts of kindness. They found it became addictive, from picking up trash to sitting with someone alone at the lunch table. Since then, Ferial has written a book, Secret Kindness Agents: How Small Acts of Kindness Really Can Change the World, also available in a teacher's addition. 

Having listened to the sermons on kindness during June, I was really struck by this story. How many people do we meet in our daily lives that we can show that small act of kindness to make their day a bit brighter?  We can wear our bracelets – Won’t you choose kindness? – to help us remember.  It’s usually easy to be kind to a good friend, but much harder to step outside our comfort zone to offer kindness to someone we don’t know. Let’s continue our emphasis on kindness throughout this year. Who knows what can happen?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to never forget those that need a kind word, a helping hand up, or just a smile to encourage or change a life, even for a short time. Help us to be your sheep, not your goats. Amen. 

Carolyn Brandle