Galatians 5:22 “But the fruit of the spirit is…kindness.”
There is a bridge close to my house where my granddaughter and I will go for a walk. It is close to a golf course and the view is beautiful. When we walk under the bridge, my granddaughter loves to talk so she can hear her echo. Her face lights up every time she hears the sound of her voice.
I wonder what our echo would sound like as we meet and greet others throughout the day. My guess is that sometimes our words to strangers might come back sounding better than the words we utter to those who live among us. Why is it so easy to be kind to strangers and friends, but yet, we sometimes are so unkind to those we say we love, especially our spouses. When we were first dating, we bent over backwards to show our best self. As we live our lives with its struggles, slowly our faults start revealing themselves. We start slowly letting the anger and bitterness seep through.
The dictionary defines kindness as the practice or tendency to be sympathetic or compassionate. We need to find a way to return to the fruit of the Spirit. It is through our walking in God’s love and taking on His character that we soon will resemble having a spirit of kindness! James McDonald suggests that when we do the things love does, you will feel the things love feels. In other words, it takes practice!
If you and your spouse have lost your way, it is never too late. Don’t wait for your spouse to take the first step towards kindness. Start practicing today and remember that echo.
