Remove a Brick with Kindness

                            Kindness takes the bricks out of other people’s walls. Sheila Walsh

                                                                Matt Mercer painting

Oh that is so true. It doesn’t take much to connect and that only happens when we remove the first brick in one another’s walls. Simply smile, let someone go before you in the grocery line, pay for the person behind you in line’s order at the drive through of Starbucks, or say hello to a neighbor passing by your yard. Silence is not kindness. Avoiding eye contact and determining that a stranger is not interested in my reaching out keeps us both walled in. Soon those hellos will become knowing each other’s names and even what is going on in life. Will this random person at the pub become one of your closest friends? Probably not. But it just may be that both of you could use a new relationship with someone fresh. 

A few weeks ago, Ronnie B and I were at the Tub, our local brewery. Isn’t it more acceptable to spend time at a brewery than a bar? Semantics! It was extremely crowded/standing room only. Earlier Ron had been there doing some work on his IPad and when he left gave the table he was at to a friend. When we got there a couple hours later, they were just leaving and we got that table back. Perfect timing! Other people were standing around not even a place to belly up to the bar. So we invited some to sit with us or stand near enough to put some of there things on our table. Bricks were coming down as our table full of strangers learned a bit about one another. We even exchanged numbers with a few. Will we ever call and get together again? Probably not. But a few years ago we met David and Annette that way and have remained friends. We are not each other’s inner circle but we get together for breakfast every now and then. I can always call Annette for prayer and she can call me. 

Let’s reverse the verse Another brick in the wall. Let’s start taking those bricks out so we can reach through the walls to connect. Who knows what we will have in common or how much someone just needed your hello today. Kindness matters for both walls that it affects.

In Him,

Joyful

6=2=23

Happy birthday my Ronnie B