Kindness Helps Us All Rise
~ When you bake bread, you learn quickly how important steam is for the whole process. Steam in the early stages keeps the dough’s surface moist and flexible; it delays crust formation and gives the dough time to rise and expand before the exterior hardens.
At home, I rely on a couple of trusty Dutch ovens—those heavy, lidded pots that trap steam and create the perfect environment for a loaf to rise. They hold in warmth and moisture for the sake of the bread.
Without this gentle environment, the dough simply cannot rise to the same extent. It falls flat or hardens too soon, forming a crust before it has the chance to become what it’s meant to be, a beautiful loaf of bread.
Kindness works much the same way. Real, patient kindness creates an environment around a person that resembles a Dutch oven. The kindness of even a few people can create the “steam” that helps someone grow and which keeps their heart from growing hardened.
Acts of kindness create an environment of kindness and kindness help us grow into the people we long to be—and the people God desires us to become. Without kindness, without love, we cannot rise. Instead, our hearts grow crusty and hard, sometimes at a very young age.
In a world that often encourages cynicism and competition, we as Christians can choose another way. We can choose kindness. We can help others rise by surrounding them with an atmosphere of love, mercy, and encouragement.
This week, let’s try to be people who create spiritual steam—people who give others what they need to grow. If we’re tempted to criticize, let’s look for a way to affirm. If tempted to gossip or complain, let’s say a prayer for the person we were thinking of. If we start to see the glass as half empty, let’s remember how God has already blessed us in countless ways here in our parish community. And if we notice someone whose heart seems hardened, let’s offer a word of support, friendship, or simple kindness. Let us be the ones who help soften hard hearts, creating environments of kindness which enable us all to rise and become the people we’re meant to be. God bless!
Throughout the year, we present an article in the bulletin each week on a variety of topics, written by a member of our Parish staff or ministries on a rotating basis.