Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

When I dally with memories of childhood, it’s not music lessons, or time spent “on the go”, or birthday and Christmas gifts that come to mind. It’s all the simple things. Helping my grandma rake leaves into big piles, riding my bike to the library with my dad, enjoying my mom’s fresh baked breads and the feel of her hands playing with my hair during church…

I think sometimes organized activities take away more than they give. In making each moment count for something, we lose track of what’s sacred. We fill our lives and our minds, but what about our souls? Sometimes you have to have *time* to stop, in order to recapture the magic of “appreciating the ordinary”.

Here are some places to start, a word of warning though: Plans very often need adjusted, and sometimes the best memories are messy. (more…)

Life as a railroad family can be a little hectic. My husband comes and goes with the trains, sometimes staying for as little as 6 1/2 hours before being called away again. And of course, somewhere in there he needs to get some sleep. It is his job that allows me to stay home with the children while also not having to worry too much about personal finances. Children, however, tend to be very concrete. They only know that the train is what takes daddy away. And daddy knows that “I love you” over the phone doesn’t mean as much as wrestling on the couch. While nothing can quite replace that, my husband has found ways to tell the children they are special and that he is thinking of them despite the separation.

Their favorite? Gifts, of course!

These gifts, however, are not generally items that you could find in a store. In fact, it is rare that they have any real material value. A lump of coal or interesting rock found while walking the tracks, a menu from the restaurant he ate breakfast at, a brochure from the hotel, a map, a penny, and a walnut have all become treasured possessions. While they are frequent, they are not quite routine…and my husband does not even necessarily bring something for each child when he does bring something home. Our oldest stores away her treasures, as she calls them, to draw out when she misses her father. The younger ones tend to drag them around until they are worn to nothing or finally lost, which has been the fate of all of the postcards he has sent thus far. So much for the album I was trying to make for them!

These simple gifts do not represent anything of material value. Instead, they demonstrate that their father thinks of them while he is away in a very tangible way. And while they cannot give him a hug every day, they can clasp a walnut, flip a coin or recite the lines off the back of a postcard while they wait for his next phone call.

One way that you can show your parents that you care about them is to keep in regular contact with them.  We all seem to do a good job of this when it’s the holiday season and we’re thinking about it, but I was touched when my old pastor said that he called his mother every Sunday morning before church just to check in and see how she was doing.  He did this until the day she died.

So, whoever your dad (or mom) is, make sure to give them a call, tell them how much you love them by saying it or spending time just talking with them.  They’ll be glad that you did.

Won’t they, Jenna?