Celebrating the Small Moments of Kindness

February 20, 2018

I had a discussion with a man earlier this week about how young ladies and young men have been raised in today’s society. He was lamenting the fact that young ladies now seem intent on making young men feel inferior. He was commenting on the fact that young ladies refuse and even get angry at young men or older men who hold the door for them and treat them with respect.

It got me thinking about the fact that he is absolutely correct. We are bombarded today with the fact that women are better than men. Men are portrayed as idiots in movies and television shows. Men are made out to be dumb and not needed whereas women are the strong ones who really do all the work. I have watched it for years. I am not saying all of Hollywood and television is like that. What I am saying is that there is a lot out there that shows men in a bad light. Are there shows and movies that show women in a bad light? Absolutely. Both are wrong.

I guess my point is that we should not be looking to the media and movies and television for how we should train our young men and ladies to act. 

We have made it a point to teach our boys to open doors and treat people they encounter, especially the ladies, in their lives with respect. We also teach our girls that a boy or man opening a door for you is a matter of that person respecting you not demeaning you or telling you that you are weaker. I have opened the door many times for others. It is called common courtesy. Kindness. We should all be teaching our children to think of others first and to treat others how they themselves want to be treated. If we all have respect for one another then the world will become a much better place.

Now yes, we need to teach our children to be wise and not let themselves be walked over or be put in danger. We need to arm with the tools to discern whether a situation is dangerous or not. That is our job as parents. We are NOT to teach them to withdraw from society just because faith in Jesus Christ is not the popular thing now. We need to teach them to engage the culture around them with the love of Jesus. 

In our family we are teaching our children to respect the people around them. For us, that includes teaching our boys to be the main bread winner of their future families. It means encouraging our young ladies to be training for whatever the Lord has for them, whether that means having a family or going into ministry or both.  It means encouraging my boys to open car doors and doors in building. It means helping people they see with packages and things they may need help with. It means training ALL, including my boys, how to do laundry and cook and clean a house and how to function as an adult. That is becoming a lost art. 

In my family, my husband is the one who goes out to job every morning and works very hard to earn money to provide for our family. I love him dearly for the sacrifices and hard work he has made for us.

I am allowed the awesome privilege of staying in a nice home with our 8 children. Our children have never gone hungry. They have clothes and toys and books and anything else they might need provided for them. Our home is cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Our refrigerator and pantry are normally full. Our kids are even afforded the gift of taking part in theater classes and football. All of this is due to one thing. My husband’s hard work. He has had to put in countless hours of schooling and training. He has not had anything handed to him. He has just worked very hard.

I know that there are women who would love to be able to stay home with their kids, but finances do not allow them. I know that there are single mothers that cannot stay home. My point is that for me I am thankful for my husband who works hard to make staying home a possibility for me.

I want to see strong men and women celebrated in society. I want to hear stories of men who are heroes and women who are strong. The women who work and take care of their children by themselves are heroes too. How about instead of men and women being belittled by the media, we celebrate all the little heroic moments that we see in the people around us.

We all are designed to encourage one another and help one another. I want to celebrate the things that I see around me that make me smile and think good thoughts about people.

So, today I want to celebrate several people

The first is a woman at our church who is a single mother. She has three children and works to provide for them. She also tutors people and homeschools her own children. She is always smiling and is such a blessing to those around her. Her children are all doing very well. She has sought out men and women in her life that are building values into her children when she cannot be around them because of her job. She is a hero and should be celebrated.

Second is my wonderful husband. My husband goes out of his way to do little things that make my job as a homeschooling mom easier. Carl was off from work Monday and needed to be at the theater building to work on sound for a play. I had to stay until 10 but he was able to go home earlier so we drove both his car and the van. He drove the van home and left me his car. When I got in the van the next morning I discovered that he had stopped by the gas station and filled the van up with gas. It is such a small thing, but it makes me feel loved that he takes care of me.

My sweet husband and I having fun on our Christmas trip. I love our sweet Tirzah in the background.

Lastly is my sweet Sam, our ten-year old. He woke up early this morning and came into my room to give me a big hug. All my smaller boys are constantly giving me hugs. I will take every hug they want to give me because I know from personal experience that there will come a time when they will not want to be giving me hugs. Having a 19, 17, and 16-year old boy I know this. I went into Esther’s room to talk about what she needed to do for the day. I sat on her bed and noticed a draft from somewhere. It was cold in her room. She was still snuggled under her covers, but I was cold. Sam was standing in the doorway to her room. He disappeared while I continued to talk to Esther. The next thing I now Sam came back in the room with his soft, fluffy blanket and proceeded to tuck it around my shoulders. I almost cried. Esther and I just looked at each other with huge smiles on our faces. Let’s just say he got a huge hug from me.

This is what I am talking about. I believe that we should celebrate all the little moments when we see people treating others with respect and kindness. What if we filled social media and television and movies with stories celebrating the heroic moments we see men and women doing every day? That is what I want to do. I want to notice the things that are going on around me and speak about the good things I see in people. I hope that today you will look for the good you see people do and celebrate them.