“As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12 (NRSV)

A couple of weeks ago, one of our daughters, who lives in Manhattan, had been told to work from home, and had booked a flight to be with us in Florida. After all, who wouldn’t rather be in Florida than in New York this time of year? As the COVID-19 warnings began to ramp up, she decided it would be best to cancel her flight, but not without a lot of disappointment and, dare I say, a bit of irritability. Just a note, she has given permission to share her story. So, after complaining to me, she decided to take a walk to settle down. When she got back to her apartment, she saw a note posted on the elevator saying something like this: “I’m a younger person without any medical conditions. I know that there are a lot of older people in this building, so if I could help by doing errands for you, please call me – and posted her phone number. My daughter told me that she was pretty humbled by that – and so she added her name and phone number to the note. And she told me that it completely changed her attitude to one of, “How can I be helpful during this time?”

Rev. Dr. Deb Kaiser-Cross
Minister for Congregational Care

Prompt for Reflection:
What are some simple things I could do to offer kindness to others during this time?

Today, help me to live in such a way that others might see Christ in me. Help me to be your message – to love.