Kindness and Cold Water

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." - Aesop
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It's Thanksgiving Day. For Average Joe, this thanksgiving is somewhat different. I'm spending it caring for my mother who is very ill. (Just so you know, the Turkey at Baptist Hospital in Nashville gets 4 out of 5 stars...pretty good for hospital food...haven't found any pecan pie yet, but they do have Starbucks coffee)

Throughout the last few days following her unexpected illness, I have been incredibly impressed with her friends and church family who have created a steady stream of visits, calls, and gifts. My stepfather's phone battery was depleted in record time by all of the calls. I am also very appreciative of all the texts, emails, and calls from my own friends and family. I've learned in the last few days how encouraging a phone call, email, or text message from friends back home can be.

Simple kindness has a powerful effect. Solomon wrote, "Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land." (Proverbs 25:25) As Christians, our responsibility is to be Jesus to the world.

But in a world that is constantly hurting, and knowing that we will have the poor with us always, the sheer number of "weary souls" can be overwhelming to those of us who possess a limited amount of "cold water." We will never be able to heal ALL the hurting, feed ALL the hungry, and encourage ALL the hopeless. But we can be Jesus to people "one cup of water" and "one weary soul" at a time. Jesus said, "And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:42)
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To all my friends, "thanks for the cold water!"