Kindness

I teach the Relief Society lesson in my church on the 4th Sunday of each month. I admit that it can be a daunting and scary task for me but I am grateful for it because I learn so much!
Last week I taught on the virtue of kindness. I wasn't planning to post about it but Loni's last post on her blog inspired me to share some thoughts. She talks about how she has had to deal with some hard things in her life and how grateful she is that she has had "angels" who have been there to help her and comfort her. She talks about how important it is for us all to serve each other and be the angels in each other's lives.
So how does this all tie in?
Well, I taught about the fact that we are all generally "kind" people but that we need to look at kindness as an action word. We need to consciously be seeking opportunities to be kind. It is easy to be kind when it is convenient - when all is well with us. But, are we kind when we are busy or when we are having a bad day ourselves?
Loni's comments reiterated for me how important it is for us to be kind - to serve each other and to be that angel in someone else's life. We can never know what another person is going through and more often than not, they are in need of a friend - someone to be their angel.
I know that each of us can recall some act of kindness that has been extended to us that helped us, changed us, touched us. Small acts of kindness that seem like no big deal can really do so much and touch people in ways that we cannot even imagine.
Like Loni, I am so grateful for the peple that are kind to me - for the angels in my life.
I feel like I am a "kind" person but I have challenged myself be more conscious of being kind, to do more. I want to be that friend - that angel - when others are in need.
How much good can we do if we would all just take a little more time to be kind?