I’ve been reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and they’re not all like Goldilocks. “The Old Grandfather’s Corner” tells the story of an old man living with his son and daughter-in-law. He was frail and trembled, so he often spilled food when he ate. For this he was made to take his meals sitting on a chair in the corner. When one day he broke his earthenware bowl, he was given a cheap wooden bowl instead. One day the son and his wife noticed their own son working with some pieces of wood. They asked what he was doing. He answered, “I am making a little bowl for papa and mama to eat their food in when I am grown up.” From that day the old man again ate all his meals at table with the family and was never treated unkindly.

This story isn’t the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but it reflects his teaching to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We live in a world that seems to have become crueler, lacking compassion and kindness. There’s no reason for this. Hostility makes life harder for everyone. We can’t change the whole world, but we can make a difference in the little part we inhabit. More patience with a person who walks so slowly in front of us with their shopping cart at the market. More understanding for the relative who tells the same story for the 24th time. More smiles for the kid who just runs around shouting with the joy of life.

Try a little kindness.

Read Matthew 7:12 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne