When We’ve Received Kindness

A warm welcome to my guest blogger, longtime colleague and buddy Jeanette Hanscome. Jeanette is a contributing author to two of my Fiction Lover’s Devotionals: 21 Days of Grace and 21 Days of Love. Her stories are always filled with compassion and a deep love for the Lord and others.

About this time five years ago, my life had completely unraveled. After 22 ½ years of marriage, my husband left  and I had to adjust to the reality of being a single mom. I knew my church friends would support and help me, especially when it came to practical things like transportation (I can’t drive due to low vision), but I didn’t expect an instant and steady flood of kindness. During that tumultuous first year, my sons and I got to witness how to carry someone through hardship.

Over the past few months, I’ve had the joy of seeing God fulfill His promise to work all things together for good for those who love Him (see Romans 8:28). My new devotional book, Suddenly Single Mom: 52 Messages of Hope Grace and Promise, was published by Worthy Inspired on March 22. In many ways this book is my way of giving back after all I’ve received. I could never repay my friends—not that they’d want me to—for what they did for me, but I can use what I’ve gained to help other moms. What didn’t fit in Suddenly Single Mom I’ve saved for later or woven into blog posts.

I wrote two stories for the Fiction Lover’s Devotional series. My contribution to 21 Days of Love reflects a discovery I made on the other side of crisis. In “More than Dates and Flowers,” Kim finds the cure for a mopey Valentine’s Day after reflecting on a friend’s sweet gesture and letting it motivate her to bless someone else. Writing this story was a creative testament to the power of kindness. After we’ve been on the receiving end of it, especially when it came during a particularly sad or dark time, we want to give it back!

We want to be generous.

We want to comfort others.

We want to crochet hearts filled with lavender just so we can give them away! (I actually do crochet hearts as special giveaways, but that’s for another blog post.)

We understand that we can give even when we don’t have money, because we’ve learned that phone calls, cards, and hugs contain special healing properties.

We find ourselves buying boxes of lovely blank greeting cards so we’ll always have some on hand to send.

We want to share our story so others can benefit from it.

That is exactly what I’m doing.

When has kindness made a difference during a difficult time in your life? How has it motivated you toward acts of generosity, deeper compassion, or a desire to share your story?

Jeanette Hanscome is the author of six books, including Suddenly Single Mom: 52 Messages of Hope, Grace, and Promise, published by Worthy Inspired. She has also contributed to two of Kathy Ide’s Fiction Lover’s Devotionals, 21 Days of Grace and 21 Days of Love. Jeanette lives in the Bay Area, where she sings at her church and enjoys being the mom of two amazing sons.