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Verse:And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. —Ephesians 4:32, NKJV
It is December again, and Christmas is almost here! At this time of the year, we hear words like joy, peace, and kindness. I want to focus on kindness.
I was laid off from my good-paying job in June.
While the termination meeting lasted all of five minutes, they paid me for a full day. I was contacted to start a temporary assignment that lasted much longer than expected and included some overtime. Then another agency hired me to start another temporary assignment. I call this my kindness experience! This new temporary assignment started in November and has kept me very busy. The company had seven open positions, which they asked me to fill as soon as possible. I prescreened all the candidates by conducting their initial interviews, and then I scheduled further interviews with the recruiting team members.
Some days, I scheduled over twelve interviews and conducted more than eight screening interviews, all while I strategized job titles to ensure we were getting the most hits on our job postings. On my first day, the CFO and one of his team members took me out to a lovely lunch. I received a twenty-five-dollar Thanksgiving gift card along with all employees for Thanksgiving. The CEO announced bonuses and gave employees the opportunity to thank, apologize to, or recognize their fellow employees. I responded first by acknowledging how kind the CEO and CFO had been toward me. They apologized for not being able to recognize my birthday in the company newsletter due to the timing, but they included me when they ordered lunch on a cold, rainy day. Finally, I received a bonus after working for the company for a total of forty-five days! This is only a temporary assignment to cover for someone on leave.
The employee will be returning soon, and I am already sad.
The kindness that has been extended to me in so many ways is something I will never forget. “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12, NKJV).
The world is always a better place when we obey the law and the prophets!
Sylvia A. Franklin