The Day I Got Nothing Done

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

1 Peter 4:9, NIV

I thought she was stopping by to get a book, a quick blip on our morning radar, something to cross off my long to-do list. When she appeared at our door, son in tow, I stepped back and invited them in. They removed their shoes and traveled down my in-need-of-cleaning hallway to our dining room, settling in at our kitchen island, and I realized the quick stop I had envisioned was instead going to be a lengthier visit. As I found myself making coffee and pouring water, supervising kids and making small talk, I settled into the visit, putting my agenda on the back burner.

I’d had plans for the day, you see. But as our visit turned into one hour, then two, then three, I realized the day might not turn out as I had planned.

When they left that afternoon, I began to make dinner. But as we sat down at the table, my husband and I received text messages simultaneously, and I knew the day had changed yet again.

Resignedly, I gave up my plans for a quiet movie night with just the two of us. Instead, another friend and her son came to visit, and they settled onto our couch as she dealt with the fallout of a family crisis. As she made phone call after phone call, grief and worry etched in the lines of her face, I played quietly with her son so that she could talk, free of distraction.

When they finally left, I sat down, marveling at how my day had changed so markedly from my expectations. Though I got “nothing” done—no cleaning, no work, nothing crossed off my to-do list—at the end of the day, my nothing was someone else’s everything. By offering hospitality without grumbling, I had done exactly what I needed to do that day. Sometimes all that kindness requires is our presence and undivided attention.

—Kristin

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Who needs the kindness of your attention? Give it to them undividedly.

From the book