Being Kind

by Kay Heitsch

"It's all really very simple.You don't have to choose being kind to yourself and others. It's one and the same." Piero Ferrucci

It was a sad day. I was going to the funeral of a little boy named Bobby. Bobby had died after falling and being caught under the tractor driven by his mom, Sue. I knew I needed to be there for Sue.

While I was getting dressed for the funeral, I had a divine inspiration. A thought came to me to buy Lisa, Bobby's sister a stuffed animal. I knew this thought to buy the stuffed animal must be from the Lord, since I'd never done anything like this before, or even thought of it, for that matter. I left the house early and stopped at a local store and bought a cute stuffed animal. I didn't have time to wrap it, so I bought a pretty gift bag and some colored tissue paper. I put the stuffed animal in the bag and topped it off with the tissue paper.

When I walked into the funeral home I saw little Lisa sitting with her head hanging down. I walked over and handed her the pretty gift bag. Lisa looked up with tears in her eyes and gave me a faint smile. She removed the stuffed animal from the bag and held it close throughout the service. I could see that holding this stuffed animal was bringing comfort to Lisa.

This morning I posted a quote, "It's all really very simple.You don't have to choose being kind to yourself and others. It's one and the same." I could have dismissed this thought to buy the stuffed animal to give to Lisa. However, I'm very happy that I acted on sharing a small act of kindness. I not only was kind to Lisa but being able to show kindness to her brought joy to my heart as well.