“Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”

This weekend I met a woman named Doreen and looking at her and talking with her you would never guess that she had been fighting cancer for the past 5 years. This was a simple, let me drive your van and see how I like it kind of encounter that turned into the privilege of getting to hear her testimony of  faith and trust in God and how His love, comfort and joy has carried her while walking in this storm. Needless to say I was brought to tears, and yet felt encouraged by it too. I was so overwhelmed with this experience I just had to wrap my arms around this complete stranger and thank her for sharing her story with me, as we hugged  I whispered a prayer for her and thanked God for this brief encounter.

“Be kind.  Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”  

I wish we could and would keep this in mind, all of the time. It applies to every person you have contact with:

The ones who put up a good front.
The ones who tell it like it is.
The ones who seem to have it all.
The ones who are grumpy.
The ones who are sweet.
The ones who cut you off in traffic.
The ones who always say hello.
The ones who are rude.
The ones who always have a kind word.
The ones who don’t smile back when you pass them.
The ones who are cheap.
The ones who are generous.
The ones who are always complaining..
The ones who are funny.
The ones who are loud.
The ones who are quiet.
The ones who are complete jerks.
The ones who are happy.
The ones that are sad.
The ones that are angry.
The ones who are always out.
The ones who always stay home.
The ones who have known success.
The ones who have known failure.

Some of us are pretty good at handling things, some of us aren’t and some of us are very, very good at pretending. This is why we should all be kind, all the time, both to ourselves and to everyone around us.  We simply never know what people are going through.  We never know what they are trying to handle, what demons they face, what life circumstances are weighing them down. Grace and mercy is the best we can do for each other. 

I have never ever met or known of a single person who has not dealt with life’s sorrows: be it grief, anger, betrayal, addiction, illness, low self esteem, body image issues, marriage issues, parenting issues, struggling children, career loss, money problems or crippling fear of life. Not one is immune.  So, let's be kind to one another, stranger, family and friend and see them for who they are - struggling, perfectly imperfect human beings, just like you and me. Make connections, smile at one another, wish each other well, offer a hand, give them a hug. It might not seem like much, but it may very well make all the difference in the world!

Thank you Doreen, for sharing light in your darkness.