By Karen O’Connor:
Are you finding God in acts of kindness from others?
Image by Salvatore Vuono: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
One day my husband and I returned from a camping trip with two duffel bags stuffed with dirty clothes. I did a big load of wash that evening in the apartment house laundry room, but then went off to sleep, forgetting to transfer the clothes to the dryer.
The next morning I dashed downstairs, still in my bathrobe, eager to transfer my wet clothes before the person who had the 6:00 slot arrived.
Too late! As I pushed open the door, there sat Laverne, my neighbor who lived down the hall from me. “Good morning,” she said.
“Good morning. I’m so sorry. Last night I forgot to . . .”
She finished my sentence for me. “Forgot to put your clothes in the dryer?”
“Right,” I said, as I walked toward the folding table, too embarrassed to look her in the eye. There I saw several piles of clothing dried and neatly folded––even categorized: socks and shirts, towels and underwear—my husband’s and mine. All I had to do was stack them in my laundry cart and head upstairs.
“Laverne, did you . . .?” I pointed to the clothing.
“I did,” she said, smiling. “I got here early today, so why not?”
“What an angel you are.”
Laverne looked at me, her bright eyes brimming with kindness. “I didn’t mind,” she said. “Isn’t that what we’re here for? To help each other?” She was practicing what I learned from the Bible so many times before.
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12: 9,10).
Oh my! There I was finding God in a neighbor’s kindness. I took her lead, and in turn, I did something for someone else that day. How could I not? “Isn’t that what we’re here for?” I reminded myself.
Enjoy this YouTube video with inspiring quotations on the virtue of kindness.
Karen O’Connor is an author, writing mentor, and frequent contributor to the Finding God Daily blog. Visit Karen on the web at www.karenoconnor.com
