Turning An Aching Heart Into A Kind Heart

Turning an Aching Heart into a Kind Heart

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Colossians 3:12

“Mom. My class voted for who should be Snow White in our class play, and I am the only person who voted for me.”

My eyes remained focused on the freeway, but my attention was on the young voice in the back seat.

“Not one person voted for me. No one likes me.” Her voice quivered before she dissolved into heart-wrenching sobs.

My heart broke. I was hoping my daughter would be a bit older before she had to navigate the difference between her intrinsic worth and the thoughts and opinions of people around her.

Oh, how I wish I could keep her safe from the hurts of this world . . . but I know I cannot and should not. We cannot completely shield our children from heartache and still expect them to respond compassionately to those who are hurting around them.

So often, our determination to reach those who most desperately need to see the love of Christ stems from an intimate understanding of heartache ourselves. Showing intentional kindness means that we will get our hands dirty, we will cry hard tears, we will see suffering instead of glossing over it and pretending it doesn’t exist. Oftentimes, learning to be truly merciful, kind, humble, patient, and gentle requires us to experience the opposite, so that we can know and understand the pain inflicted by careless words and actions.

While my heart aches when my children feel the sting of rejection, I want it to happen when they are living under my roof, so my husband and I can counter the lies before they get buried into our kids’ hearts. We want to show our kids biblical truth about God’s unending love for them and his good plans for their lives.

—Julie

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Where have you been hurt, believed lies, or felt the sting of rejection? As you come across someone in your life who is hurting, channel those memories so you can respond in empathy, showing them tender kindness and gentle truth in their pain.