I believe in Kindness.

Last Sunday a good friend of mine was speaking in church. As usual, I was barely paying attention because I always seem to have 5 things that need my attention more than whoever is speaking. But I managed to catch a couple of phrases that my friend chose to use. And one in particular really stuck out to me. At one point she said the phrase, "I believe in kindness."

I'll admit it stuck out to me because it sounded silly to me when she said it. My mind kind of laughed as I thought, "What do you mean, you believe in kindness?!? Like you believe it exists?" That's silly. I know it's hard to find, but you know it exists. I believe in kindness, too. That's when my little brain-swirl started. I believe in kindness, too. Holy cow, I do believe in kindness. I believe that it exists. I believe that you can see evidence of it everywhere if you are looking for it. But my brain-swirl quickly added all new meaning to the word believe. Suddenly and without warning, I was believing in kindness in a whole new way.

Merriam-Webster defines the word 'believe' a couple of ways, but the one standing out to me today is "to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something." For the past week I have had a firm conviction that kindness, almost single-handedly, has the power to do some amazing things. It changes hearts. It changes days. It changes lives.

So, thank you, Good Friend, for standing up and saying something so simple that somehow changed my perspective. I have a new craft project for the week. I need to create a wall-decoration meant to alter the perspective of others. And to serve as a reminder to my children in their daily lives. I need to create something that simply states, "I believe in kindness."