The Law of Kindness

He walked into the house, tossed his bag off his shoulder, and sighed. He handed me a note from his teacher, a not-so-great day and a sad little boy. He’d had enough time all the way home to grow more discouraged. I knew he just needed a hug and an understanding shoulder at that moment. Home means love, acceptance, a do-over. It’s amazing how genuine praise, words of kindness, and an eagerness to understand can change the countenance of a child’s face, anyone’s face, when we truly seek to understand.

Moms were made to notice things. We hear a tone of voice, we see slumped shoulders, we catch fleeting glances on little faces. We are hard-wired to study our children, to know them, to guide them, to gently help develop their potential. We notice other things, too. Like the dusty bunnies roaming our home, the bread crust that fell under the table, that bunch of Legos tucked under the couch ready to rattle our vacuum, the crooked photo on the wall, the mountain of laundry that never truly goes away, and a million other things around the house. All distractions, vying for our attention.

Our children will likely not remember our super cleaning skills, but they will remember how we made them feel. How we dropped everything to come running when they were hurt, how we smoothed foreheads and wiped tears, how we held them and gave them courage to try again.

Proverbs 31:26: She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

I want to be like this mom when the chaos ensues and the temptation comes to step out of constraints. To hand out life giving words. To give the law of kindness, to display the fruit of self-control, to share the wisdom of walking in love. May we, as the keepers of our homes, be vigilant over our children and over our words. May we hide His Word deep in the hearts of our homes’ inhabitants – life-giving, soul-changing, living, breathing words.