Unusual Kindness

Acts 28:2 ~
“The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.”

I stretch my hands toward the warmth. The flames crackle and sway and send sparks careening into the air and up, fizzling away as they fly. The heat warms my fingers, and my soul, as I huddle close. The beauty and power in the flames mesmerizes me. I cinch my sweater more snugly around my shoulders and I’m thankful for warmth wafting up and playing across my cheeks and face, leaving feathers of pink as it fades away.

Cold is so….cold. Damp and chill reach bone down deep.

They’re mighty foes to combat. Yet, I would say that fire’s heat is mightier.

Cold repels. Warmth draws.

Blue and green flicker, catching my attention. So beautiful.

Sometimes when hurt and hard hit our lives especially strong, it feels like fingers of cold are creeping and crawling and freezing everything they touch. Will these places thaw? They will indeed.

For kindness comes to call. And this particular kindness has a name.

Unusual Kindness.

This Kindness sees a particular need and it reaches out to build a fire and warm a drenched and freezing stranger caught in cold and raining weather.

Unusual Kindness.

It’s the man who unlocked the door and helped me unload shoeboxes and we shared a few moments conversation about collecting shoeboxes and all the willing hands and parts filled to carry out this ministry for others.

It’s the cleared off counter and cleaned up kitchen I arrive home to.

It’s the beautiful hearts who share their art and love by gifting someone with a surprise painting in the mail.
It’s the unexpected gift left by your front door.

It’s the smile and cheery greeting of the cashier in town as she works willingly in humble service.

It’s in the upturned face and open arms of a two-year old eager to offer a hug.

It’s in the hands of an emergency room doctor as he battles injury and life ebbing away.

It’s in the hands of the mama making yet another meal to feed the chattering cherubs, as she listens to the back door slamming for the seventy-fourth time today.

Unusual Kindness.

Do I even comprehend the impact of this thing named thus?

I don’t. Not at all. At all.

Unusual Kindness woven into every day.

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