Pursing Love - Love is Kind

We are in the second week of Pursing Love and this week's topic is Love is Kind. Well, it's taken me all week to write this post. I thought I was going to miss this one. When I reflect on what it means to be kind - to be friendly, generous and caring, I immediately think about the loving kindness the Lord has shown to me, and how I am instructed to model that kindness in every aspect of my life to those around me. For the most part, I am a kind person. I think that others would say that I am. But as I draw closer to the Lord, He is quick to reveal those areas in my life where my attitudes or actions do not align themselves with His. It is for my benefit that these areas are brought to the light so that I could fix them and look more and more like Jesus, which is my one goal in life. Lately, I've been asking the Lord to show me how to love well. Love starts by being kind. I fell in love with my husband because he was first kind to me. He was/is friendly, generous and caring. If it were not for his kindness in the early days of our relationship, I would not have fallen in love with him.

There are many areas of my life where I feel I need to work on showing kindness to others. Here are a few:

• Do I say thank you to the person at the grocery store who rings my groceries or helps me out to my car? You would think I would do this automatically, but honestly, sometimes my mind is racing and I just forget.
• When the line for coffee in the morning is out the door, am I kind towards those working hard to meet my need, or do I moan and complain about why it's taking so long? I've been known to have a bad attitude towards those trying their best to provide me a service. Although I've never voiced my displeasure, just the fact that it was in my heart make me cringe.
• Do I purposefully look for ways in which to assist others (at work, at home, in the marketplace)? I do pretty good with this at work; but at home and in the marketplace is a different story. I am working on it.
• Do I model kindness to my children, so that they in turn will be kind to each other? I have had my share of "bad" days and unfortunately, have leaked my unkindness out into the atmosphere of my home. I am working hard to maintain an atmosphere of love, honor, kindness and respect in my home.
• Do I treat myself with the same kindness that the Lord has shown me? Not there yet. I have been working on this one my entire life. I have come a long way, but have so far to go.

I want to be Kind (friendly, generous and caring) all of the time. I don't want to allow my circumstances, or the fact that the day got the best of me, to dictate how I treat myself or others. My prayer is that the Lord would give me a heart of compassion for others, so that I would begin to see them through His eyes, and show them the same loving kindness that He has freely given to me.

For more posts on Love is Kind, visit Marsha at Marsha's Musings.