When you wake up and head to the bathroom, what do you see in the mirror each morning? Is it just your reflection with the bed-head hairdo, puffy eyes, or unshaven face? Or perhaps you may see someone else squinting back at you with those beady eyes so early in the day. At that very moment of reflection, you have an excellent opportunity to ask that person you see in the mirror, “Who are you?”
So how will you answer that question you posed to the person reflected in the mirror? If you look deeper into the eyes of the reflected image, what will you discover as you explore their mind, heart and soul? Will you find joy or sadness, acceptance or rejection, love or hate, kindness or selfishness?
And what you do with what you find through that exploration can change your life. An important Biblical directive comes from James 1:22-24 when he said – “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” I believe what James is telling us is that if during self-examination we see a flaw in our character, our heart, mind, or soul, we should take action to correct it, not ignore it. Many people believe that the eyes are the window to the soul and reflect everything that is hidden. But what is hidden is reflected from our hearts to everyone who sees us through our eyes too.
No doubt, the results from your exploration will surely manifest in your interactions and experiences throughout that day. As we all know from past experiences, whichever mood we begin the day with generally carries through the remainder of the day, unless something happens that impacts that mood. Could a single random act of kindness change the mood of hundreds of people? Can kindness beget kindness? We have recent proof that it can.
For example, remember in December 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 shutdown of businesses and social distancing practices, a single random act of kindness showed how people still cared for others. In the small town of Brainerd, Minnesota, the people who frequented their Dairy Queen drive-thru proved that kindness could beget kindness. It entailed one driver paying for the meal of the car behind them at the DQ that got the “paying it forward” chain of kindness started. This small act of kindness by one person mushroomed into 900 consecutive vehicles doing the same act of kindness for those in line over the next 2 ½ days. As one participating person described the experience, “the gesture was way more valuable than just getting free ice cream.” Despite all of the angst, anxiety, frustration, and isolationism caused by the pandemic, kindness won a victory over those few days.
In the midst of the global pandemic, these people of Brainerd, Minnesota reflected kindness to complete strangers and thus made a very positive impact on so many peoples lives that week. Not just those who participated in the random act of kindness event, but to the whole world that later read or heard of the story through social media and news networks. A spark of hope was struck to help dispel the darkness during those days.
Take a moment to think of what the world would be like if more and greater random acts of kindness were taking place everywhere. Perhaps selfishness and greed would give way to kindness and sharing. And perhaps that would morph into less hatred and violence, replaced with more love and acceptance of others. The possibilities for positive changes are enormous.
And it could start with just one random act of kindness, one spark of hope and enthusiasm to make this world a better place that could set off a firestorm of love, caring, kinship, acceptance, and fellowship to bring us all closer to each other and to God. During this upcoming holiday season, perhaps that spark could start with you. Be brave, pay it forward, and see what happens. I pray that your act of kindness will be reflecting kindness for others to emulate.
Keep calm, Stay confident, Carry on…God will help You with the rest.
Blessings,
Jerry
