Kindergarten Kindness

My An Arkie's Faith column from the August 11, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

The little girl with curly golden hair carefully made her way down the steep stairs the went from the kitchen to the basement. She had asked Mommy if she could go downstairs to see Grandma. She loved spending time with her Grandma and could not remember a time when Grandma didn’t live in the basement at the bottom of the stairs. When the little girl with curly golden hair stepped into the dimly lit basement, she saw Grandma sitting in a chair, sewing quilt blocks together. Grandma’s eyes lit up as she looked up and saw her granddaughter.

Setting down her sewing, Grandma said, “come here and let me pick you up.” She set the little girl on the very high bed with two mattresses. The girl loved Grandma’s bed because it was so high that she felt like a princess when she was on it. Sometimes Grandma asked the little girl to spend the night, and she looked forward to sleeping with Grandma on the very high bed with two mattresses.

Grandma got a cornhusk doll down off a shelf and let the little girl hold it if she promised to be careful. The doll’s name was Cornelius, and the little girl with curly golden hair loved to hold it. She was so proud that Grandma trusted her to hold Cornelius. Sometimes Grandma would go into the closet and bring out the old Japanese parasol. Her son, Huck, had given it to her when he came home from Japan. She would show it to the little girl, opening it up and then letting her twirl the parasol. 

Each morning, the little girl with curly golden hair would wait for Grandma to come upstairs. Before breakfast, they liked to go outside together and look at the morning glories and roses that climbed the trellis separating the lawn from the garden. Grandma would pick one rose and one morning glory to bring inside and put on the breakfast table. Some days, after breakfast, Grandma would get the big red book, Golden Treasury of Bible Stories, from the old bookcase by her bed and read to the little girl with curly golden hair. She loved snuggling on Grandma’s lap and looking at the pictures in the big red book while Grandma read.

On special days, Mommy would drive Grandma and the little girl to church, where Grandma was a part of the Dorcas Society. The Society is named after the New Testament Christian woman who “was always doing kind things for others and helping the poor.” Acts 9:36 (NLT) Grandma and other women from the church would make quilts and mend clothes to give to people who needed them. The little girl with curly golden hair liked being at the Dorcas Society. 

One day Mommy drove the little girl with curly golden hair to school. It was her first day in kindergarten. As they were leaving, Grandma got a jar down from the shelf and said, “you be a good girl, and every day you are good at school, I will put a penny in the jar for you.” When they got to school, Mommy took her to the classroom and told her, “You be a good girl. I will come back and get you at lunchtime.” The little girl loved kindergarten, but she missed her Mommy and Grandma. Before long, she made many friends, but her best friend was Debi. They did everything together at school. 

Grandma was not feeling well and needed to go to the doctor. Before she went to see the doctor, Grandma told the little girl with curly golden hair, “don’t worry, I will be back soon.” But the doctor sent Grandma to the hospital. Grandma didn’t get better, and she died in the hospital. When the family told the little girl that Grandma had died and wouldn’t be coming back, the girl said, “no, she didn’t, she would have told me.” And then she added, “she said she was coming back.”

The little girl with curly golden hair didn’t understand what was happening. But she knew that she missed her Grandma. When she went back to kindergarten, everyone in her class knew that her Grandma had died. Her friend, Debi, felt unhappy that the little girl was so sad. She tried to cheer her up. 

The next day, Debi came to school with a gift for the little girl with curly golden hair. It was a book about a girl and her Grandma. The little girl loved her gift but thought, “I wish my Grandma could read my new book to me.” Debi’s kindness made the little girl feel better.

The little girl with curly golden hair was my wife. She has vivid memories of her Grandma. She still remembers the book that Debi gave her. And she still remembers how much her friend Debi’s kindness meant to her. When we are kind to someone, we never know what impact it will have on them.

Kindness is underrated. We equate it with being friendly or pleasant, as though it’s mainly about smiling, getting along, and not ruffling feathers. It seems a rather mundane virtue. But the Bible places a lot of importance on kindness. Colossians 3:12 (TPT) says, “You are always and dearly loved by God! So robe yourself with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others.” Kindness is love in action. It is visible and active, not just emotional. 

Gentle Reader, many Christians believe that we must do great and mighty things to change the world. The truth is that a simple act of kindness can have a long-lasting effect. Christians should aim to have so much of Jesus’ love and kindness in them that they can’t help but share it with others. Being kind and loving others should be the natural outgrowth of living as a Christian. “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.” Proverbs 12:25 (NIV) So make a conscious effort today to be kind to everyone you meet. God will put someone in your path who needs to be cheered up. You may never know the positive impact of your kindness, but “let love and kindness be the motivation behind all that you do.” 1 Corinthians 16:14 (TPT)