A Little Bit of Kindness
Catherine Pulsifer

There are times in our life when we don't take action because we feel the act of kindness is too little, that it wouldn't make a difference. However, sometimes the smallest gesture can make a huge impact on someone's life. There are many different ways we can show kindness to others, and it doesn't have to be in a big way.

The simplest of things may make the difference. A smile, a door being held open, a handwritten note, a kind word, the list can go on and on.
I was recently reading some of Aesop's fables and came across the story of The Lion and The Mouse. While this story has been around for a long time, it still has wisdom in its words. Below is the story:

One day a Lion was asleep when a little Mouse began running up and down his back; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him. "Please don't," cried the little Mouse: "forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some of these days?"
The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him that he lifted up his paw and let him go.
Some time after the Lion was caught in a trap, he pulled with all his might, but the ropes were too strong. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight, in which the Lion was, went up to him, and with his sharp little teeth gnawed away the ropes, setting the Lion free.
"You once laughed at me," said the mouse. You thought I was too little to do you a good turn. But see, you owe your life to a poor little mouse."

While you may think the story is far fetched, the point I found in reading the story is not the size of the action that is important, but the difference that a small action made. Small acts of kindness makes a difference in ways you may not realize!

Do you have opportunities to give small acts of kindness? Some people might think that they do not have a chance to show another person a small measure of kindness but these opportunities are everywhere you go through the day. For example, if you ride on a bus, have you ever said good morning to the bus driver or do you just ignore him or her and proceed to your seat? A simple good morning or good afternoon tells the person that you acknowledge them and it is even an acknowledgement that can help to brighten a day.

Please pray for baby Cullen. He is a 4 week old baby boy from Elk City. He has contracted Whooping Cough and has been taken to Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City.

=

Petra Anderson is a victim of the Aurora Shooting. Her story is miraculous, told in part by this excerpt from Brad Straits’ blog:

“Petra is moved back to ICU. She looks, surprisingly, wonderful. With a small hole in her nose, and her arm wrapped, she almost looks uninjured. She is medicated and sleeping when I come to visit her on Saturday…
...
It seems as if the bullet traveled through Petra’s brain without hitting any significant brain areas. The doctor explains that Petra’s brain has had from BIRTH a small “DEFECT” in it. It is a tiny channel of fluid running through her skull, like A TINY VEIN through marble, or a small hole in an oak board, WINDING FROM FRONT TO REAR. Only a CAT scan would catch it, and Petra would have never noticed it.

But in Petra’s case, THE SHOTGUN BUCK SHOT, maybe even the size used for deer hunting, ENTERS HER BRAIN FROM THE EXACT POINT OF THIS DEFECT. Like a marble through a small tube, the defect channels the bullet from Petra’s nose through her brain. It turns slightly several times, and comes to rest at the rear of her brain. And in the process, the bullet misses all the vital areas of the brain. In many ways, it almost misses the brain itself…

A millimeter in any direction and the channel is missed. The brain is destroyed.”

Yet, Petra, due to a BIRTH DEFECT, was saved. What are the odds of that!

God DOES work in mysterious ways, doesn’t He?

 

A young man was at the end of his road , seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer.
 
"Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a cross to bear."
The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room.
 
Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish."
The man was filled with relief and said, "Thank you Lord," and he did as he was told.
 
Upon entering the other room, he saw many crosses; some so large the tops were not visible. Then, he spotted a tiny cross leaning against a far wall.
 
"I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered.
 
The Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in."