Not long ago, I was standing in an airport security line waiting for my turn with the X-rays and security team and noticed the older woman behind me. She looked nervous. We were in one of those long, snaking, back and forth lines you see in amusement parks a good many minutes back from our appointment with emptying pockets, removing belts and shoes, and throwing stuff in plastic bins. I figured I knew the reason for her anxiety and asked, "How long until your flight?" It was less than 30 minutes until takeoff. No doubt the early boarding calls were already underway. So, I told her she could move in front of me. It was a small kindness but I was happy to extend it. I believe kindness and goodness grow with use. Then the guy in front of me, overhearing our conversation, added, "Here get in front of me too." He and I had both been to the same ABCUSA Christian conference and heard the same sermons about reaching out into the community to find God among the people there. Then, my fellow conferee one-upped me. He was standing in just the right twist and turn in the line to remove the strip from between the posts at one end and say, "In fact, why don't you just go through here." Suddenly, that anxious woman was three people back from the very head of the line. "Thank you both," she said, relief flooding her face. For just a moment she was nervous again, wondering if someone near the front of the line would tell her to go back to her place. Nobody did. Everyone around us had overheard the conversation and apparently wished her well. It was wonderful to see a little kindness grow like that in a crowded airport full of harried people on tight schedules.
That is one simple way to love your neighbor ... extend small kindnesses whenever you are able. Each kindness will have a ripple effect and the second great commandment will spread further in this very simple way. Have a blessed week full of small kindnesses ... extended from you towards others and from others toward you.
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