Messy Kindness
Messy Kindness
Don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.
Hebrews 13:16
I peered at the directions on my phone as I wound my way farther into the countryside. Pulling up to my destination, I saw a garage door opening, the space inside filled with piles of garbage bags. As I exited my car, my friend Jen opened her front door and led me downstairs to what looked like an episode of Hoarders—a basement filled to the brim with clothes, some stacked on the table neatly, others on the floor haphazardly, with signs taped above them to announce their sizes.
“We got a lot done yesterday,” she said, looking around at the mess optimistically. “This actually looks a lot better than it did.”
Jen is in charge of the Diva Boutique, where single moms can “shop” for free. She’d spent the past many months collecting clothes for the shop, and on this day she was sorting items at her home before they were transferred to the event. This particular year, there were about seven thousand items. Each item would be looked over carefully. The ones that weren’t up to the standards of “gently used” would be removed, while the others would be put on hangers or folded up neatly and placed in garbage bags. In a couple of weeks, the volunteers would drive the items to a camp and use them to turn a conference room into a beautiful boutique full of clothes and accessories.
As I left that day after working for a few hours, I thought about how, so often, kindness isn’t glamorous. Sometimes it’s messy and it means sacrificing your personal space. It can require hours of backbreaking work. Yet it’s this behind-the-scenes kindness that can be the most important. It’s unseen, often thankless. There’s no spotlight to bask in, just the heartfelt thank-yous from women who will never know how many hours you spent thinking about and praying for them while sorting clothes.
My friend Jen is an unsung hero. She’s proof that showing kindness is work. It’s intentional. Doing good and sharing with those in need is often a sacrifice—and these sacrifices please God.
— Today’s Act of Kindness —
Choose to do an activity that requires you to sacrifice in some way—with no promise of reward or even a “thank you.”
From the book
