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“And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”
Matthew 10: 42
The day a cup of tea and kindness saved my faith.
Weariness...
Of a husband with a ruptured disc, always in pain.
Three teenagers amidst hormones and anxiety.
Selling a home in one state and moving to another with not quite enough money to get the place we felt we needed.
Trying to give my youngest daughter an innocent, focused childhood amidst the bigger issues that consumed our lives with teenagers.
Feeding everyone every day, being responsible for their well-being, health, emotional life, spiritual life.
This found me depleted, discouraged.
Clay was holding down the fort in Tennessee with me looking for houses to rent or buy in Colorado. Our other house had sold. I had 2 days to find a place for us to live. Lack of sleep from worry, fear, pressures of life left me exhausted.
Staying with a friend, I tiptoed downstairs early in the morning to be sure not to awaken anyone.
There, on a little table in her breakfast area was a beautiful feast: a wisps of a flower in a small drinking glass, two tea cups, 2 stemmed juice glasses, a slice of fresh apple bread, a card that said, “I just wanted you to know you are precious to the Lord. He sees you, loves you, will provide your needs. I am here today to be your friend, to help in any way I can. Be encouraged, you are not alone.”
Tears began to flow. It had been so very long since someone had thought of me — to encourage me, to think of me. I did not even know how depleted I was until this act of kindness opened the floodgates of my heart, and the realization that I had felt so alone in life.
One little act of kindness gave me the energy I needed to trust God that day, to keep going, to have hope. That day, that moment, hope began to fill my heart.
I looked up the definition of kindness in the dictionary — kindness: benevolence, humanity, generosity, charity, sympathy, compassion, tenderness, good will
Why kindness is at the heart of what we need to pass on to our children, not moralism.
More on today’s Tea Time Tuesday podcast: the heart of discipleship, food, a song.