Kindness doing small things with love. Kindness considers what the other person likes/wants when expressing love to another. When my wife and I got married, we both made a list for the other with the heading:
I feel cared about when:
...and each of us listed 50-100 things the other could do for us to show that we care. Little things. Individual and unique to each of us. Free things. Caring deeds that indicate I care about her that I might otherwise not know. Here are a few of my wife's:
Back rub.
Mini Snickers from the store.
Run a bubble bath.
Make the bed.
Open the car door for me.
Do the dishes.
Cook dinner. Mac and cheese, sausage and green beans.
Dust.
Talk for five minutes about myself.
Put my arm around her during church.
Hold hands.
Ask about her day.
Jewelry (any and all)
Spooning in bed
Pray with her.
Snuggle with her while watching a movie on the couch
Leave love notes where she will happen upon them during her day
Kindness says that I love her without using words. Each one is a voluntary, spontaneous expression of the great love in my heart where my words fall short. Caring deeds are the proof and delight of my love for her.
And to think, God is love...God is kind. God constantly pours blessings out on me and my family as a way of expressing His love to me. More than Scripture saying it...He proves it by the hundreds of things that I find that are good and right in my life.
But He also wants me to care about Him. He wants me to do things, spontaneous and voluntary, that show I care. Any relationship thrives on kindness and our relationship with God is no exception. It's more than obedience, although God digs that. Kindness shows God that I am thinking of Him, that I want Him, that He means something to me.
What do you do that shows this level of intimacy with your spouse, family or God?
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I have been learning about kindness the past 2 weeks--kindness is really something that is active. I realized I often wasn't demonstrating it...or actively seeking to show it to my hubby. I even had a hard time thinking of concrete ways to do this--I like the idea of the lists you and your wife made--neat idea!! It would be helpful for spouses to do this listing for each other. My husband has been actively doing small kind things for me and it really is amazing how much the small things can mean. Thanks for this post.
ReplyDeleteI like that Nannykim...Kindness is love in action...It communicate not only that I love you, but also that I cherish you, want you, to please you. That seems much deeper thatn just saying "I love you." Thanks for dropping by....
ReplyDeleteOk so I asked my hubby about giving me a list of kind things I could do for him. HE totally surprised me by listing all the kind things I already do for him (man that was encouraging!!)
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