Kindness First

Image by Pavel Jurča from Pixabay

My morning devotion quoted Ephesians 4:32. “And be ye kind one to another; merciful, forgiving one another, even as God hath forgiven you in Christ.”

Ouch. I’m falling short on this virtue.

My husband is nearing 80, and after his near death with Covid back in 2020, his stamina has decreased, requiring me to pick up more of the household chores.

I don’t mind most of the time, but little things are annoying. Dirty dishes in the sink when the dishwasher is empty. The unmade bed and breadcrumbs on the kitchen counter, he doesn’t seem to notice. Do I sound like Martha?

Why are those small things so annoying? My husband isn’t insensitive to my feelings. He genuinely doesn’t think about doing those little tasks. But on top of other things, they become overwhelming, especially when I'm tired.

After a long chat, we both vowed to do better. He’s making more of an effort to help with the little things, and I’m working on remaining cheerful (or at least not grumpy) when feeling overwhelmed. After all, some things can be put off for later. (That’s hard for this clean freak, but I’m working on it. )

I love my husband. He’s not perfect (then neither am I), but he is the perfect partner for me — despite these little things. 

I pray you have a blessed holiday season, one filled with kindness and hope and joy. Amen.

Good Intentions

John Hain at Pixabay

We’ve all heard the phrase, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1091–1153) is credited with the original phrase, “Hell is full of good intentions, or desires.” In 1650 John Ray recited it as a proverb. “Hell is paved with good intentions.”

St. Paul writes in Romans 7:19, “For the good which I will, I do not; but the evil which I will not, that I do.”

Sounds like good intentions to me.

We are human. We try. We fail.

God understands our failings, so won’t he also understand our good intentions? There is no shame in trying and failing, only in not trying at all. Our effort counts.

There's the difference  

Good intentions never acted upon pave the way to hell. Whereas good intentions to put into action, even if unsuccessful, lead us toward heaven. 

As Joseph T. Sullivan wrote in my morning devotion in, Good Morning, Lord, “Let me be a doer of little things, the small actions that make someone else’s day a little better, putting someone before myself.”

Those good intentions are not hard to put into actions, requiring only a few minutes of my time, and yet can mean so much more to the recipient. With practice, I might even become the doer of bigger things.

Thank you, St. Paul for your honesty. It encourages the rest of us to keep running the race with our hearts and minds focused on God and eternity rather than on our failings.