A mom grieved after her son told her he’d been bullied. After much prayer, she invited the bully over. To her surprise, both boys laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. Like this mom, we can foster kindness in our homes.
Encourage discussions. The news will discourage us and pull you down, but keep kindness at the forefront of your family’s conversations. Point out when someone shows kindheartedness. Recall heartfelt stories of generosity from the news.
Implement a kindness day. Encourage each family member to decide which cantankerous individual you choose to be kind to this week. Put the kindness into action and share the results. Remind your children to stay patient if they are still waiting to see a change.
Nudge each other when you see a need. We all need help seeing others’ needs. Watch for ways to serve others as you walk or drive around the neighborhood. An older adult may need someone to talk to or to pick up branches from the yard, or a new neighbor may need a friend. Stay alert to others’ needs.
Be kind to your family first. Be intentional in your words, actions, and thoughts of those in your family. Guard your comments about your spouse. Try it seven days in a row. Ask for God’s help when kindness dissolves. Pray that each heart in your family will grow tender towards each other. Kindness begins at home and with your family.
Nix the negative comments about others. Catch your family members and yourself speaking down or sarcastically about others. Graciously guide your child to think of something kind to say about another. Allow them to remind you of the same.
Educate your child on Jesus’s example. Jesus told about the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) who helped an injured man while others ignored him. Jesus touched the diseased, visited those in prison, and invited the outcasts. How could you introduce your child to appropriate actions of kindness?
Start small. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted,” Aesop said. Start simple and small. Model talking to the clerk at the fast food restaurant, opening the door for the person behind you, inviting a single person or widow to your dinner, or baking cookies and delivering them to the new neighbors. You’re showing your kids how to sow kindness.
Summon superpowers. Shaunti Feldhahn said in her book The Kindness Challenge, “It is only when you are actively kind to someone who is not kind to you that you see the true power of Christ-like kindness.” We may muster kindness for a moment or a day, but genuine, transforming, and long-lasting compassion is of the Spirit. Pray for your child to bear the fruit of kindness in abundance.
That kindness is what our neighborhoods need.
Sally is an award-winning writer and author of “The Dance of Easter.” Connect with her on Instagram or Facebook, or read more at www.sallycressman.com.
