The Beauty of Kindness

As I left work after a busy day, I received a phone call from a lady who had been given my number by a mutual acquaintance. She asked if I would be willing to do speech therapy with her mother, who had suffered a stroke and was having difficulty speaking. As she told me the details about her mother, I realized I knew who her mother was.

She had been admitted to the hospital and placed in the intensive care ward where I work before being moved to another ward. I remembered she was a very strong-willed person yet well-liked by the nurses. I started to work with her, first with the alphabet, then with words and pictures on cards. Little by little, she began to speak more fluently.

I loved to listen to her share the stories of her remarkable life. She had battled cancer of the lymph nodes; she carried the scars from her surgery, but the cancer was long gone. She had worked for many years as a cook, and even though she now had to move around with the help of a walker, she still enjoyed making food, baking cakes, and preparing delicious fruit ice creams. But what impressed me most was whom she cooked for.

It was the lady who had first contacted me.

I had assumed she was the daughter, but, in fact, she was a former daughter-in-law. She had been married to the older woman’s only son, who had worked in the ambulance services. He had died as a young man in a traffic accident while on duty.

Her former daughter-in-law had been remarried for many years, and together they had a daughter who came almost every day to see her grandmother.

Although she was not the daughter’s biological grandmother, she still called her Grandma. The little girl did her homework at Grandma’s house and enjoyed the goodies she prepared. As part of her speech therapy, we read from the children’s Bible together, and I encouraged her to read the full Bible story. I think that is why we met, to read from the Bible together. When Jesus was on earth, He showed kindness to people every day.

He was concerned for their good; He healed their sickness, taught them, and revealed the kingdom of God. Solomon wrote, “He who pursues righteousness and kindness will find life” (Proverbs 21:21, RSV). May we follow our Savior’s example and pursue kindness today.

Magdalena Alina Lupu