An article was written by one of my fellow writers a couple months back, entitled The Kindness of Strangers. I have been thinking about it a lot for the last week because of a little kindness I received from a stranger. It wasn’t as big or as fantastic as my would-be mugging victim taking me to dinner (I promise I’ve never tried mugging anyone), but the impact it left on me was no less profound. It was such a good reminder to me that we truly can change the world just by being kind to those who we happen to come in contact with from day to day.
It was a Saturday night, and it was raining. Not just any rain, either. It was coming down hard outside, back-dropped with flashing lightening and trembles of thunder. I had been in bed most of the day with a terrible headache and some crazy sinus pressure. I wanted nothing more than to remain in bed—and would have if we hadn’t had tickets to a concert I had been waiting five months to attend. And this concert just happened to be held in an outdoor arena. I grumbled as I packed my jacket. I wasn’t excited to get soggy and soaked. I was equally unhappy when my headache caused me to get carsick just as we got stuck in massive traffic on our way there. Suffice it to say, I went to that concert with a terrible attitude.
But that terrible attitude was changed by the kindness of one sweet woman.
The storm had died down by the time my husband and I reached our seats at the amphitheater. Still, all of the chairs had little pools of water in them. Just as I prepared to sacrifice my jacket to the water and create a dry place to sit, the lady in the seat next to mine said, “Oh dear! Your seat is so wet. Let me help you!” She then proceeded to pull out a damp rag and attempt dry off my chair. When it became apparent that this was not going to work, she got the attention of others who were sitting nearby.
“Excuse me,” she said, while waving to get their attention, “I noticed you had some paper towels. Could we borrow some for this girl to dry off her chair?” All this she did without a though, not expecting a thank-you. She just genuinely wanted to help.
When my seat was all dry and I got seated, this lady told me how she and her daughter had traveled from another state to attend the concert. As it was summer in Utah, they had not expected the rain and hadn’t packed jackets. When they went to the store to get something, they quickly realized that jackets are hard to find in the summertime. They tried to buy ponchos, but found that every last poncho had already been sold. Judging by my already grumpy attitude, I’m sure that this experience would have made me even grumpier. But this lady didn’t seem one to be easily disheartened. She said that she got the idea that they should try using shower curtains. So that’s what they did! And that’s how I met her—wrapped up in a clear shower curtain, happy as could be!
She told me how she had prayed that the rain would stop so that she could see the show, and excitedly pointed out the double rainbow that arched above us. She informed me that rainbows are a sign of God’s presence. And then, just as the show started, she tapped my shoulder and asked, “Do you happen to have earplugs?” When I shook my head, she said, “Here, take these!” and thrust a pair of little, blue foam plugs into my hand. “They have not been used. We bought an extra pair, just in case. We were here last night, and the sound gets VERY loud up here near the speakers. I wouldn’t want you to damage your ears!”
What a sweet lady! My grumpiness—and my headache—quickly dissipated with the rainstorm, and this lady became the sunshine that radiated through the clouds of that evening.
And the thing is, it didn’t even take much to lift me up. All she did was smile and show a little kindness to a girl she had never met.
I hope that we can all remember to be kind to those we meet as we go about our lives. You never really know whose heart you are touching, whose burden you are lifting, or whose life you are changing when you do something kind.