Real Love is Kind
Happiness is often found in giving the gift of kindness to others!
Our story, Miracle at Redimere House, focuses on the power each act of kindness contains to change people.
Mettie is a street girl, rescued from being taken to a workhouse by house mum Mama Addie and brought to the orphanage where Addie wants to love her and give her a home. Mettie is mean and cruel having spent six years on the streets of London during the Industrial Revolution. Her presence has disrupted the peaceful, organized routine Mama Addie has created and brought fear and disruption into the whole house.
After tearing apart Felicity’s doll, her only memory of her parents, Mama Addie has moved Mettie into her own sleeping chamber to try to lessen some of the conflict. In her efforts to balance kindness with discipline, she hopes this will lessen some of the conflicts by keeping Mettie’s interactions with the others to a minimum as she tries to bring much-needed love to the heart of this hardened street child.
Addie’s weapon of choice is kindness. She has personally experienced its power and believes in its life-changing ability. After Mettie reacts to Mama Addie’s discipline by hurling all the books on the shelves of the study to the floor, she falls asleep. Addie takes the opportunity to try to explain some of the reasons for her decision to keep Mettie in the orphanage.
“It’s easy to love people when we like them. But when we don’t like them, yet still choose to love them, we invite the healing love of God into our problem so He can begin to change that person – and change us, too.”
Sandra, who was one of the oldest girls at fourteen, asked what all the girls were wanting to know, “How can we do that? How do we love someone we don’t like at all?”
“Well, for starters, I’m going to clean up the study while Mettie is asleep. Would anyone like to come help? What a surprise it will be when she wakes up to see all the books put back neatly on the shelves – just like magic!”
“NEVER!” stated Felicity. Most of the others felt the same, though no one else spoke. In the end, it was only Sandra who forced herself to do what she did not want to do – and it was only because she loved Mama Addie.
Like quiet little mice afraid of being caught, they silently picked each book up and replaced it on the shelf. Mettie never moved, and in an hour the study felt as peaceful and warm as it has always felt. As they left the room, Mama Addie hugged Sandra, thanking her for supporting her in her decision to continue to work with Mettie.
“How funny,” thought Sandra as she headed back to her room. “An hour ago I walked down this same hall feeling like I was in the midst of a fierce hail storm. Now, I feel more like I’m walking along a quiet beach at sunrise on a Sunday morning.”
Kindness is defined as “an act of good will; beneficence; any act of benevolence which promotes the happiness or welfare of others. Charity, hospitality, attentions to the wants of others, etc., are deemed acts of kindness.”
Kindness is not only something we show at certain times or in certain situations. It is a mindset – a way of thinking that has been inculcated through persistent training. Mama Addie has learned kindness after having been the recipient of it (as we shall see later on). It is a quality we need to diligently teach our children through our example and by looking for and creating opportunities for them to engage in.
Today’s Takeaways:
1. Love is a choice.
“It’s easy to love people when we like them. But when we don’t like them, yet still choose to love them, we invite the healing love of God into our problem so He can begin to change that person – and change us, too.”
On our own, we are incapable of changing anyone. But our choice to love allows us the privilege of becoming a channel through which God will pour Himself into the heart of another.
2. Acts of kindness are the evidence of love.
“How funny,” thought Sandra as she headed back to her room. “An hour ago I walked down this same hall feeling like I was in the midst of a fierce hail storm. Now, I feel more like I’m walking along a quiet beach at sunrise on a Sunday morning.”
Acts of kindness embody the power to bring change to the receiver and to the giver.
Follow along with your children as they listen and review the story each week. Make a conscientious effort to build a kindness mindset into them by trying some of these ideas from 100 Acts of Kindness for Your Kids. We are looking for opportunities every day to acknowledge kind words and acts that your children carry out during class time. We would love to hear your ideas or stories about how this character quality is being worked on in your home! Please share in the comments below!
“Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.” ~ Chuck Swindoll
At Emeth Gymnastics, we are committed to helping you deposit true character into the life of your child!
