RAK Week and Beyond

Did you celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week last week? It’s a great time to try something kind that you’ve never done before and see how it feels.  In my other blog, I called it starting streams of kindness because I printed some kindness cards that ask people to pass on another kind act after receiving one.

I must admit my week of random acts went slowly.  I wanted to buy someone’s meal who was behind me at the Burger King one day, but there was no one there.  I noticed the surliness of a waitress but didn’t think to leave her a big tip and a kindness card until it was too late. 

In fact, it really wasn’t until this week that I began to give out my kindness cards.  The next waitress we had at a Mexican restaurant on Monday got a hefty tip and a card with a smile on it from me. Then I brought a security guard a coke and a chocolate chunk cookie for a snack one night. 

I did do one act of kindness during the week in question, but it was something I would have done no matter what week it was.  My mother began experiencing double vision in one of her eyes last week.  She lives about an hour away from me so I drove up to take her to the doctor and do some tests to determine what was going on.

As of now she is still seeing double in one eye and the doctors can’t seem to do much for her, despite doing a cat scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and some blood tests.  The most technological suggestion they had for her was to get an eye patch.  My husband said we should get her a pirate hat as well. 

I had another friend who fell from her attic last week, breaking a vertebra in her back.  She got out of the hospital this week and I brought her dinner on Wednesday, then picked up a prescription and some flowers for her on Thursday. 

Neither of these were random acts of kindness, but I am talking about them because one happened last week and one this week.  Was either of them less an act of kindness (though not random) because of when it was done? No, and kindness must continue no matter what week it is because every week there are people in need.

My mother and my friend know that they are loved by me and by extension, loved by God.  My mother, my friend and I share the love of Christ.   They know that part of the reason that I helped them, as well as the others, is that I want to be known by my love.

The bible says we will be known as Christians, or not, by how we treat other Christians. As I said in my blog two weeks ago, God charges us to love our neighbors as well.

I put three words on the back of the kindness cards that I gave out.  God bless you.  Kindnesses done by Christians are one of the important reasons that I became a Christian myself and I hope my random acts of kindness this week or kindnesses done any week can help others see God’s love for them.