Random? Acts of Kindness

Whatever you did for one of the least of these...you did for me.

Matthew 25:40

In 2002 my life lost all sense of direction and control. I started the year married. I ended it a single mom to two young daughters. 


I longed for security. I craved boundaries. I was distant from God so I drew them myself in the form of a little black binder.

I organized my scattered life into notebook. There held my groceries lists, my credit cards, cash, my agenda, my travel necessities and even stamps and note cards. I could literally live weeks on end with access to nothing but my little black rectangular prism of safety.


As a single mom, weekends encompasses the sum total of quality time I had to offer my kids. One Saturday morning we headed out for an "adventure" - translation: A trip to the bank to get the month's cash and then to Walmart.


I was uber prepared. My notebook contained my to do list, my household needs, my groceries and upcoming school projects. In less than an hour I had procured everything necessary to keep my life running as smooth and easy as possible.


I smiled as I pulled out of the parking lot, proud of the strong, independent woman I'd become. My grin vaporized into terror when I realized I'd left my "life" on the back bumper of my car. A quick stop at a gas station confirmed my suspicion, my binder was lost.


Waves of fear and nausea passed through me. I had no one in Jacksonville. My whole system of fortifying myself to face life as a single mom had vanished. I called out to the only Source of hope I knew. Though we weren't exactly on speaking terms, I asked God for help.


Within an hour my phone rang. A friendly voice informed me he'd found my binder and wanted to return it. I'd watched enough Lifetime movies to know to arrange to meet the creep in public. A nearby grocery store was appointed.


Thirty minutes later a man with kind eyes and a woman who perpetually wore a smile drove up to my car. They told me how thankful they were to make contact with me. They were Christians and so grateful to be able to return my property to me.


I smiled, sincerely thanked them and secretly expected to find my file considerably lightened of cash. Every penny was inside.


The term random acts of kindness has long been used to describe the actions of a couple like this. I'm a huge fan of them myself. I enjoy paying for the coffee of the car behind me, stopping to help a mom with an infant or gathering the newspaper for a friend. 


But are a Christ-follower's kindnesses truly random?


If you've ever stopped to help a stranger, you felt the nudge in your heart. What even made you notice the person? Didn't God have to first illuminate your eyes? 


What if we stopped thinking of kindness as random and began to tune into the tug of God? Random would become intentional. Kindness would become a lifestyle. Random acts of kindness would transform into intentional living.


What is one thing you can do dial your heart to God's today as an intentional giver of kindness?