Kindness in a world of chaos

Amidst all of the cares and issues of everyday life in this world, some days, the lemonade pours out like a fountain of youth, reviving the weariest of souls and quenching the thirst of those near dehydrated from simply living.

We here at the West Bowie Post had one of those days last week, with that sweet lemonade being poured out from one sweet reader, who showed us by her kindness that what we are doing here…matters.

Now, I doubt that this sweet lady would want me to use her name in this space. You see, she is one of those people from our community that does things to be nice, just to be nice.

It reminds me of something my friend Joni Haldeman used to tell me so often. She told me that Noble Hearts are the kind of folks that do not like getting an award. They don’t enjoy being in the spotlight, or getting a big pat on the back, or having a story written about them in the local newspaper.

She said that a Noble Heart does what they do simply because it is the right thing to do…it is who they are…they do what they do because someone needed to do it.

That is exactly what this very kind reader did for us last week. She didn’t do what she did for us because she thought I would write these words about her. She didn’t do what she did to make money, earn an award, or get any kind of recognition. Her kindness was born out of her heart. Her kindness was the kind that comes to you just because the person delivering it is a kind soul.

It might seem frivolous to you, but to have a reader spend their own time and money to go out and enlist her friends to join the ranks of our readers by buying a subscription, well, you can only imagine what that does for a couple of folks doing their best to put out a local newspaper.

To me, it was as if this dear lady scooped up a slice of Heaven and dropped it at our doorstep.

You might think that this is all a little over the top, but rest assured, things like this are out of the ordinary in our industry, and in our world as a whole.

We recently had a story about a young lady in Hooks who has made it her mission to spread kindness around her school this year. That story all by itself warmed my heart.

If you follow that story, with the kindness shown to us by this sweet reader, you could say the kindness meter is off the charts. And if you ask me, kindness is one thing our community, and our world, needs a whole lot more of these days.

In a world filled with wars, crime, riots, and debauchery of all kinds by those who are supposed to be our leaders, it is so refreshing to see random acts of kindness still exist. In this world where a man obviously has many things to hide can stand before us all and just “plead the 5th” it is like the sweetest glass of cold lemonade ever to see people use their voice to do good things for those around them.

In Galatians, our Father tells us that one of the fruits of the Spirit is kindness. Then again, in Ephesians 4:32 His word says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Then also His word tells us to do unto others, as we would have them do to us. I mean, how many times do we have to be told to be kind before it seeps into our conscious and becomes an everyday part of our lives?

Being kind is so simple. Why don’t we do it more?

Just look around you.

There are so many ways you can make someone’s day with a simple random act of kindness. I saw it happen on the campuses of our local school districts this week as individuals and businesses showed out to greet our school staffs back for another year. It really is refreshing to see, and we all should really find ways to do it more.

So, in honor of the sweet reader who made our days last week with her outpouring of kindness, let me do one of my own.

The first person that calls me after reading this piece, I will buy them a free subscription to this newspaper. The second person who calls me after reading is going to get a free drink from our neighbor at DK Nutrition, and the third person who calls me is going to get a free coffee from Brew Bliss.

Oh and by the way, while I decided not to tell you the name of the sweet lady that was the catalyst for this week’s column, I will tell you that her daughter-in-law is the senior English and dual credit Frameworks teacher at DeKalb High.

Hey, if you know, you know!