Years ago, I lived in the Tidewater area of Virginia (where Stepping Into Sunlight, the novel, is set).I was an exhausted grad student with a toddler and baby-on-the-way.
One day at the local grocery store, I was hurrying to grab a few things and get home in time to trade off the car with my hubby who would head off to one of his jobs (he was also in grad school). I reached for an orange, and several fell from the display, bouncing around my feet.
Embarrassed, I bent clumsily and tried to chase them down, fighting back tears because I was so exhausted, and the escaping oranges felt like the last straw.
"Ma'am, don't worry about it." A young stock-boy offered me grace with his friendly smile. "Happens all the time."
He waved me along and picked up after me. I never forgot that small act of kindness. He didn't know how tight my lungs had been feeling, how heavy my shoulders, how jangled my nerves. But he lifted my burden on a day I desperately needed it.
I realized that day that I underestimate the value of a small kind word, a simple act, a warm smile.
This site is all about celebrating ways to love others -- even strangers.
We'll be taking little steps, sharing the adventure, laughing over the attempts that fall flat, and watching to see what surprises God may have in store.
How about you? Has someone ever offered you a small act of kindness that touched your place of deep need? Post a comment here. Maybe some of us can duplicate the good deed!
Blessings!
Sharon Hinck
Coming Soon:
Stepping Into Sunlight
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