My favorite Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Bertha Lane used to end all our classes with the same scripture every time. Ephesians 4:32 “…Be ye kind one to another tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you”
The way she ended her classes, I thought, was a testament to who Mrs. Lane was, but it was also one of those persistent things that seep into your mind and psyche over time. I mean, it’s decades later and I still think of it, and her. No matter what the lesson was, what we took away for the week was, how important it was to be kind. I’m pretty sure she knew what she was doing, and I say Thank You Mrs. Lane!
As I go into a new year, the scripture keeps crossing my mind. And yes, I try to ensure I am kind in my everyday life. And as I think about the trope “new year new me” and I see all the social media messages of people who are cutting other people off, I am wondering if I am in the group being cut off? Should I be? Have I been horrible to anyone this year? My knee-jerk answer is No, of course not! (Sang like the Clark Sisters in my head) But the truth is I may have been.
Keep in mind “horrible” is subjective. My definition my not be yours. Some friends and I recently hosted a virtual game night where we asked, “Am I the Villain?” I learned, that yes, I could be the villain to some people, and deserve to be cut out of their lives. I hope, that isn’t true, and that I’ve made the appropriate apologies, and all is well. I can hope.
The objective going into the new year, is to be kind and forgiving. The macro-objective is to live in peace and possibly make a few lives better. Kindness may present itself in many ways, but here are some of the things I’m committing to in 2022… offering help to those in need, sometimes people only need a smile or a kind word to make their day. I’m dropping the practice of “brutal honestly” I don’t really do this but that’s just code for being a jerk. I will adopt friendliness, considering the feelings of others, being generous (it always comes back to you) I will support my marginalized friends, hear their needs and do my best to honor them. I will look for ways to be kind & forgiving. This also means working on my own unforgiveness that has settled in and got too comfortable.
So HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! But wow y’all, I got a lot of work to do! I didn’t realize how much!
Thanks, Mrs. Lane, for reminding us after every lesson what was really important.