Plant Kindness, Harvest Love – Be Intentional

Hello friends

Kindness and love go hand in hand.   You can’t walk in one without it affecting the other.

It is not difficult to walk in kindness.  It doesn’t have to take a lot of time nor does it have to cost a lot of money (if any).  Yet, kindness often gets displaced and neglected.

A seed that is planted in the ground needs to be nurtured for it to grow into a plant. Planting a seed and just leaving it to fend for itself will often result in that seed either dying or if it survives, it ends up struggling to thrive.

Much like that plant, we also need to be nurtured and one way of nurturing people is to walk in kindness.  When we are being kind to others, not only do they end up feeling loved and cared for, we too, fill our own lives with love.

Too Busy for Divine Appointments

Everyday I believe that God sets us up to encounter what I call “Divine Appointments”. These are when we get to encounter others and in small (and sometimes big) ways, pour some kindness and love into their lives. The sad truth is, we tend to be so very busy with our own lives that we don’t even see the divine appointments that are placed in our paths. It is easy to get consumed with  the happenings in our lives, especially when we are going through some adversity. We do ourselves as well as others a disservice when we lose focus on being kind towards those around us.

Recipient of an Act of Kindness

Recently I was blessed by being the recipient of someone else’s act of kindness.  I live in a condo and went down to get my mail.  When I got to the lobby I noticed one of the elderly ladies that live in the building sitting alone. We said, “hello” to each other and I proceeded to get my mail and return to my suite (I had things to do).  As I was about to leave the lobby this sweet lady started asking me how I was doing and we started a conversation.  She shared with me that she had been crocheting and needed to rest her hands. We ended up sitting and talking for about 20 minutes.  As I was getting ready to leave she stated that she had something for me.

She shared that she was feeling rather lonely and felt led to go and sit in the lobby. This tugged at my heart-strings as I have fallen into loneliness a time or two in my life.  She then reached into her bag she had with her and pulled out a few scarves.  This sweet lady shared that she felt led to bring some of her crochet items to give away to someone. I was her someone.  She let me choose the scarf that suited me the best and wished me a good day.

Fabulous Gift Turned Into A Greater Gift

The scarf wasn’t the only fabulous gift that was given to me.  This lady’s random act of kindness spoke to my heart and I felt loved.  I believe that I got the greater gift that afternoon.  You see, I was given the divine appointment to spend some time with someone who was lonely.  All that it cost me was 20 minutes of my day.  The “to do” list can wait.  I can put some of the “tasks” aside in order to plant kindness in this woman’s life. God highlighted to me that when I get too busy to be kind to others, I am then walking in selfishness.  The Bible states very clearly,

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

 

Love, is not just a feeling word.  Love is an action word.  If I am not acting out love to others then I am not truly loving them. Being intentional with our kindness is essential.  If we are not mindful and intentional we may lose sight of the divine appointments that are sent our way.

Examples of Planting Kindness

There are so many things that a person can do in order to plant kindness into someone else’s life.  Today I am going to share with you ten that you can start with.

1.  Send a text to someone and let them know that you are praying for them. ~~ then take the time and pray.

2. Offer a hug.

3. Do something nice for your spouse/ parent/ child.  Do one of their chores. Make a favorite meal or snack. Treat them to a date night. Spend time listening to them.

4. Give an unexpected gift.

5. Be tolerant and patient.

6. Forgive mistakes — quickly.

7. Open a door for someone.

8. Share a snack.

9. Give out a compliment.

10. Smile

Prayer

Father God, may I see things clearly and not be blinded by my own “to do” list.  Forgive me for my selfishness and getting caught up in my own world. I have been too concerned about my own wants and needs and have neglected the people around me that You want me to be a blessing towards.   Help me to see others through Your eyes. Show me daily where I can be a blessing to someone and what it is that You would have me to do.  May I remember to take the time to notice the people around me.

I desire to be Your hands and Your feet.  Set up divine appointments for me on a daily basis and show me how I am to extend kindness to someone each and every day. I want to honor You and demonstrate my love for You by loving others. Help me to put this love in action.

Thank You for giving me the opportunity to be a blessing to someone else.  Thank you for trusting me with the hearts of others. I am so grateful for Your leading and Your guidance.  Thank you for showing me how to plant kindness and to see love grow in others – as well as in myself.  I adore You Lord.

In Jesus’ Name ~~~ Amen

Challenge

I want to challenge you to be intentional with acts of kindness.  Every day look for ways that you can plant kindness in someone else’s life.  I believe that not only will you harvest some love in that person’s life — you will also harvest love in your own heart.

How do you plant kindness into other people’s lives?  Have you been challenged to be more intentional with random acts of kindness?  Drop me a comment.  I would love to hear from you and pray for you.

Be Blessed 💞💞💞