Choose Kindness

No one liked Margaret.* She stood taller and was stronger than anyone else in the fifth grade. She arrived like a whirlwind soon after the school year began, and while her fierce red hair and freckles were enough to get her noticed, it was her meanness that truly set her apart. Pencils vanished, erasers and crayons snapped in two, and spit wads flew through the air with marksman-like precision. She seemed to enjoy being obnoxious. Recess became a nightmare, for Margaret ruled the playground like a tyrant. Even the boys seemed intimidated. In those days needlepoint was still taught in school, and it was my favorite class.

Every Wednesday Miss Vera taught my class the intricacies of embroidery as we worked on tray cloths and pillow slips. While we stitched she spoke to us about the roses in her garden and the books she loved to read. “Remember girls,” she would say, “the only thing you can take to heaven with you is your character.” I glanced pointedly at Margaret, but she seemed not to notice. One week Margaret fell ill and missed needlepoint class.

Someone mentioned her name, and soon we all shared our Margaret horror stories. After we had finished we waited to hear what Miss Vera would say.

Threading a needle, she said thoughtfully, “Margaret has such beautiful handwriting.” With those gentle words Miss Vera showed us how to be kind.

Instead of reprimanding us, she quietly demonstrated how to love and gave us a glimpse of Christ’s loveliness. No one had ever shown me so clearly what it meant to be like Jesus. We finished the school year, and I completed my tray cloth. Miss Vera said my lumpy daffodil showed potential. Margaret never returned to school, and memories of our troubled classmate eventually faded. As I grew older, however, I discovered a world full of Margarets—wounded hearts in a wounded world—searching desperately for evidence of love. Kind words are a balm for broken hearts. Kindness quietly reveals Christ’s heart of love toward the hurting women around us—and to the hurting woman within us. It changes us.

The kindness we show to others and to ourselves gives a glimpse of Jesus that heals and restores. Let us always choose to be kind.†

Karen Pearson

* Margaret is a pseudonym.

† Adapted from Karen Pearson, “The Ministry of Kindness,” Lake Union Herald 100, no.8 (August 2008): 16. Used with permission.