Love and Kindness

It has been a very long day! My alarm went off at 5am so that I could serve as a RUO (Responsible University Official) for a volunteer event. My group went to the International Museum of Culture, where I cleaned all the glass casing for the exhibits. The Director and her staff were very thankful for our time and energy, we accomplished all the tasks that they rarely have time for. We did good!

This evening I decided to finally go and purchase the few remaining pieces I needed to transform my full size bed into a queen size. I needed a bedskirt and wooden slats to reinforce the frame. I arrived at the lumber aisle of Home Depot and I must have looked completely out of place because an older gentlemen asked if I needed help with something. After explaining what I was looking for he told me I was looking at the wrong wood and instructed me on what to purchase and how many stats I would need. I left the store with exactly what I needed. I was saved by the friendliness of a stranger.

I get home and finally get my bed a part and reassembled to the dimensions of a queen...or so I thought. Turns out that I had currently calculated the width of the new bed, but failed to consider the length. Here I was with a brand new box spring, a free mattress and all the bedding for a queen but not the right bed frame. Fail. I quickly jump on the internet to start pricing bed rails and realize that I need a certain kind since I have the headboard and footboard. Fail times 2. I make a made dash to a furniture store that is open until 9 (whew!) in search of the much needed rails. I can get the rails at the store, it will only take 2 weeks for them to get here, I think back to my bedroom that is a huge mess thanks to my new and old mattress sets. Fail times 3. Then the sales associate asks if she can give me some advice, certainly! Although, it meant losing a sale she tells me to go to a mattress store that will undoubtedly have what I need. Score! Thanks to her kindness I will be able to pick up my new bed frame tomorrow!

I could not be more thankful for the kindness of two perfect strangers today. One helped me avoid picking out the wrong wood for my bed and the other saved the day by telling me to make a purchase that wasn't from her store. Neither person had anything to gain from offering words of wisdom or taking the time to point me in the right direction but they did anyway. How often do you take the time to for a random act of kindness?

John 13:35, Jesus tells us to love one another as He has loved us; 1 John 4:19 says we love because He first loved us; 1 Corinthians 13:4 tells us that love is patient and kind. Love isn't always the weak in the knees, fireworks going off, butterflies in the stomach feeling but it is a glow that surrounds you when you reach out to those around you. We are instructed to show love to everyone that crosses our path, regardless if they have shown it to us or not. This is what makes people stand out, this is what makes people genuine. Our society constantly places personal needs and desires above anything else, when was the last time you put someone's needs above your own...and not for the returned favor or the ceremonially pat on the back, but because you simply felt moved to make a difference? God wants us to embrace each individual that comes into our lives and to show them love and kindness. I think the Beatles may have had a good grasp on this topic...all you need is love!