Abounding in Kindness

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

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Last Sunday was a week of "home church" followed by Communion afterward. The word that stood out to me from the readings was, “abounding in kindness (Psalm 86).” The parish hall where I went to receive the Eucharist was bare and sterile. I thought of the stable where Christ was born as I observed the meager place of worship.

Throughout the course of this week, I felt inspired to look for God’s kindness in the happenings of daily life. Each day brought transformative awareness in small details. 

Social distancing is usually an inconvenience on my morning run: there are lots of other runners and cyclists to avoid. This week, by looking for God’s kindness in it, I came up with an alternate running route that was even more fun (basically, it was an obstacle course composed of trees, shrubs, and concrete steps)! 

An elderly woman who was out for a walk reminded me of my husband’s grandmother. Instead of looking the other way out of sadness, I looked for God’s kindness. Memories filled me with gratitude, and I felt keenly hopeful of our connection with David’s grandma in heaven.  

This week, new music spoke directly to my heart (especially this hilarious and heart-warming song by Jon McGlaughlin)! I found God’s kindness in the synchronicity of song lyrics with my own experiences.

Then on Friday, we prepared for our son Jamal’s Confirmation and First Communion Mass! As I prepared our clothes, did Jamal’s hair, made a light dinner, and packed snacks, David told me that his own dress pants “probably” needed to be ironed. My initial response was to get super upset. (“Now he tells me?! He’s definitely not going to iron them himself. It’s either: he wears wrinkled pants or I have to fit this into my schedule.”)

As I ironed the pants, I looked for God’s kindness in that moment. Then it dawned on me: God’s kindness was happening through me for David, as I served my husband.

Looking for God’s kindness not only transformed my conceptualization of the things that happened to me this week, but it changed my understanding of how my own words and actions impact my family—particularly my husband who asked me for a favor at the last minute.

How have you seen God’s abounding kindness in your life recently? Perhaps a moment that seemed like a terrible inconvenience actually held important lessons. Will you join me in asking the Lord to show us His kindness, both around and within us, today?

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