Kindness is free......

I appreciate words.  It's enjoyable to read them and work with them. I like how words can bless me, challenge me, teach me. They can make me laugh, cry and wonder. Books, blogs, stories, web-pages....there are no shortage to words these days.

This morning I read a bunch of words strung together that made me laugh out loud. A genuine laugh, the kind that is good for your health. And then I cried a little..... cause well, for me at least those words struck a chord.

The quote was in a comment below a touching, on-line, story about an adoptive family that had been blessed by a kind gesture from a stranger.

And for me...the comment, the string of words that made a sentence, kinda summed up life.

I must warn you that the quote includes a little, four, letter word. You must stop reading this blog if such words offend you.....

"Kindness is free... sprinkle that shit everywhere"

If laughter truly is the best medicine. Well, I had my dose for today. :)

Life has a bit of everything in it.

Pain, joy.

Gain, loss.

Laughter, tears.

Grief, kindness.

Order, chaos.

Love, hatred.

Happiness, sadness.

Worry, peace.

Abundance, lack.

Illness, health.

We each have a "plate" and to each of us all of the above will be served out to us at some point in our lives.

And when the "#!*@" hits the fan....and trust me it will......where would we be without kindness?

When it's our turn to have a dose of pain, loss, tears, worry, lack, illness, chaos, or grief......what is it that gets us through?

Kindness. Love. Grace.

Sometimes from strangers. Usually from those close to us.

But where ever it comes from ....it's what makes life bare-able.

I thank God for kindness.

And for the lady, pulling to a stop, who gave me friendly smile as I walked by.... for the new girl in town who doesn't know anyone.....well ......that smile warmed my soul.

I've had my fair share of trials the last while and what this quote....

 "Kindness is free... sprinkle that shit everywhere"  

...says to me......is stop focusing on your own pain. Everybody has pain. Share kindness instead...we all have to help each other get through this.

We don't always know who has what on their plate. But I wanna be the person that showers sprinkles of kindness on lives that come close to me.

Not the kind of love, joy, peace, happiness that is in denial of pain...but the kind that keeps sprinkling kindness in spite of the pain.

Does sprinkling kindness have to cost a lot of money? No.

Compliments. Hugs. Smiles. Emails. Facebook likes and comments.

Maybe the cost of a stamp, card, a piece of chocolate, bowl of soup, or a pot of spring flowers?

It doesn't mean having to spend a lot of money....but when it comes out of your own pain....it's not free I suppose....but it's more valuable. And appreciated.

And so I am especially grateful to those who have reached out to lighten my load while they were carrying heavy burdens themselves.

Guess that is what life is about. Guess that is what God's grace allows us to do.

Help others, spread kindness. Be the joy in an otherwise painful day.

And so I will leave you with this thoughtful quote that made me laugh through the pain of a bad headache.....

"Kindness is free... sprinkle that shit everywhere"  

Happy sprinkling!