What’s the kindest thing someone has ever done for you?
I have a friend named Shirley.
She’s in her 70s, and she has this wonderful habit of surprising me when I least expect it.
One Christmas, she called me out of the blue and said,
“I need you to come over.”
I didn’t think much of it.
I went over, and she handed me an envelope.
Inside was $1,000.
I was stunned.
Of course, I tried to give it back.
I tried sending it back.
I told her I couldn’t take it.
She wouldn’t hear of it.
That’s Shirley.
But the truth is, the money wasn’t the kindest thing she has ever done for me.
It was the way she consistently loved me.
She has prayed for me.
She has prayed for my family.
She has encouraged me, checked on me, blessed me, and shown up in ways I never expected.
And somewhere along the way, she reminded me that sometimes God sends people into our lives who become family without ever sharing our last name.
We met through Bible study dinners in my home.
She came as a friend.
Somewhere along the way, she became family.
And maybe that’s what kindness really looks like.
It isn’t always the grand gesture.
Sometimes it is the person who remembers to call.
The person who checks on you.
The person who prays for your children.
The person who notices a need before you ever say there is one.
Sometimes kindness looks like an envelope with $1,000 inside.
But sometimes it sounds like:
“I’m praying for you.”
Shirley also taught me something about receiving.
I’m much more comfortable being the giver.
I can bless someone and walk away without needing recognition.
But receiving someone else’s generosity without feeling like I have to repay it?
That has been a lesson of its own.
Maybe Shirley wasn’t only blessing me that Christmas.
Maybe God was teaching me that I don’t always have to be the strong one.
Sometimes I get to be the person someone else carries.
So when I think about the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me, I don’t really think about the money.
I think about Shirley.
I think about the prayers.
The friendship.
The consistency.
The way someone I met around a Bible study table became someone I now consider family.
And I think about how beautiful it is when God allows people to find one another.
Some people come into our lives through blood.
Some through circumstance.
And some through divine appointment.
I believe Shirley was one of mine. And I’m grateful I answered the phone that day.
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