Alms

I read this quote recently :

“Not everyone can give alms in money, but we can all give alms in words.

Alms of warm, kind words are like a mother’s lullaby to the unwanted, to the elderly who have a kind of hungry loneliness.

These words bring peace and joy into joylessness and unpeace, and make people feel loved and wanted again.“

(Dearly Beloved, Volume 1)

It is so easy to snap at someone we live with because, well, they are the closest people near us.

But honestly, it is also so easy to say a kind word to those same folks. One compliment from someone can make me smile for the whole day .

When was the last time you complimented someone in your life….be it your partner or the shopkeeper down the street?

I was just speaking with a beloved restaurant owner the other day and he said that it is not our imaginations that homelessness has increased and with all of the construction downtown it has pushed these folks into the suburbs. They are finding abandoned buildings (due to our LRT construction) and many of these poor people are on drugs just to get through the day.

It’s so easy to judge.

“Get a job!” “Get a life!” “Get away from me!”

But perhaps we could do a small act of kindness to bring some comfort to these folks who are marginalized?

Maybe we can perform an act of kindness to an elderly person who is having trouble navigating traffic or bringing groceries to their own vehicle.

Could we let someone cut in front of us in the grocery line up or even….pay for their few goods?

Acts of kindness can be elaborate or simple.

The other day I got up to the window at Tim Horton’s and found out someone in the car ahead of me had already paid for my coffee.

Such a small act of kindness but I tell you I was smiling from ear to ear like I just won the lottery.

If nothing else in these upcoming days let’s leave a kind word with someone wherever we go. Let’s compliment and encourage each other instead of tearing each other down and let’s pray for each other every day.

Are you with me?

May God bless you as you have blessed me many, many times, friends.

Peace.