Author: Kelly Skelton

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 

Colossians 3:14 (ESV)

---

CHANGE THE STORY

 

Closing out this week, I want to circle back to the words from Monday, the kindness of my mom. 

 

My mom’s kindness in her hospital bed impacted those who cared for her.

 

The nurses, doctors and caretakers would each tell my sister and me what a kind woman my mom was, how brave she was, how sweet her soul was. Every time they spoke of her kindness it melted our hearts, but nothing melted it more than the love of her nurse on the second day of her stay.  

 

That nurse became attached to my mom. They shared stories, they laughed and cried over pictures.  My mom knew things about her life that even I was surprised she shared.  This nurse came back to the hospital hours before her shift started just because she knew my mom was being discharged on hospice care. She came back to tell my mom good-bye, to hug her neck and to tell her that she loved her.  It’s a moment I will never forget.  Out of such darkness that hung over us, my mom’s kindness and the nurse’s kindness is what helped carry us through. The kindness that she had was what I imagine Jesus was like.  In the midst of a battle, in the middle of fighting for her final days, she chose kindness, compassion and love.

 

I pray as you end your week, you reflect back on the kindness you were able to offer, and see the kindness that was given to you.

 

I pray that the kindness you shared helped change someone else’s story too. 

 

---

Kelly Skelton is a Georgia native, raised in the south on Jesus, Georgia football and sweet tea.  She is her husbands’ biggest fan and her two daughters’ loudest cheerleaders.  She recently published her first children’s book titled, But God Had a Plan.  She stays active in the Dallas area as a  photographer, videographer, writer, and middle school teacher.

 

But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

Galatians 5:22 (ESV)

---

PLANT SEEDS OF KINDNESS

 

Seeds of kindness can harvest into something bigger than you could have imagined. God can use even the tiniest of moments of kindness to change someone’s heart, someone’s day, someone’s life, even someone’s eternity.

 

My grandmother was the epitome of kindness. In fact, even into her late 80’s before she went into assisted living, she was constantly inviting people into her home. It was not uncommon to show up for Sunday dinner and see a set of complete strangers that she had invited in, shared a Coke, a cookie and fellowshipped with. She was one that was never in a hurry, always paused to listen and always had the perfect scripture or example tucked away in her back pocket. She never missed an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. When reading through her old journals I read one example after another of people who stepped in to whom she offered the kindness of Jesus in ways she would have never boasted about or even shared.

 

One thing I’ve learned over and over in life, is that people will never forget how you made them feel. Lets make that memory something good, leaving behind a legacy of kindness.

 

I pray today, as you take on new and planned things, that you remember to plant seeds of kindness. And I pray that as your day goes on, God waters those and turns them into something so much more.

 

---

Kelly Skelton is a Georgia native, raised in the south on Jesus, Georgia football and sweet tea.  She is her husbands’ biggest fan and her two daughters’ loudest cheerleaders.  She recently published her first children’s book titled, But God Had a Plan.  She stays active in the Dallas area as a  photographer, videographer, writer, and middle school teacher.

 

…”and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity.”

2 Peter 1:7 (ESV)

---

SOME THINGS ARE UNFORGETTABLE

 

The most impactful moment of kindness in my life hit me in 2020. My family was frantic, scared and in quarantine.  The isolation was nothing short of traumatic.  It was so hard to celebrate the littlest of things, but I will never forget my birthday that year. I’ll never forget the image of my precious mother-in-law pulling into my driveway.  She walked up the stairs of my porch with groceries in her hands, flowers in a vase and birthday cookies peeking out of a bag.  I watched her walk up those stairs with gifts, tangible items that just ooze her kindness. We tried talking through the windows for a few minutes, we reached our hands out to each other, desperately wishing they could touch.  We poured tears together without saying a word.  We just stared through the glass, and the feeling of uncertainty hung thick in the air as she left my sweet birthday gifts on the porch and waved good-bye. 

 

I’ll never forget that act of kindness.  How she showed up for me and my family, because that’s who she is.  When my world felt like it was breaking, she brought me hope in the form of kindness.

 

Kindness should come natural to us. It should just pour out of us like it does my mother-in-law. As Christians, our actions should be different.  Our kindness should make us stand out.  It should make others wonder and want the joy that we harvest inside us.

 

I pray as you go through today, God reminds you of some of the kind moments that have been gifted to you. I pray those memories inspire you to offer kindness so freely to others today.

 

---

Kelly Skelton is a Georgia native, raised in the south on Jesus, Georgia football and sweet tea.  She is her husbands’ biggest fan and her two daughters’ loudest cheerleaders.  She recently published her first children’s book titled, But God Had a Plan.  She stays active in the Dallas area as a  photographer, videographer, writer, and middle school teacher.

 

Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Proverbs 16:24 (ESV)

---

PEOPLE NEVER FORGET HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL

 

I’ve been a teacher for 13 years. I’ve taught kindergarten through 8th grade at any given point during those years. It has been a blessing to listen and engage with students.  I’ve been their voice of reason, their school mom, the one they vent to and even occasionally cry with.  I’ve listened as they have lost puppies, gone through break ups, dealt with mean girls, and even listened as some have struggled with their beliefs. Some days exhaustion hits, lessons need to be completed, and time runs out at the end of the period.  But, there is one thing I have repeatedly learned, being present is often the greatest and most impactful form of kindness to someone else.

 

A decade ago, a student of mine was having a rough day. He had his heart broken and the math lesson was the farthest thing from his cares that day. His face showed all the emotions he was going through. My heart said that I needed to stop and check on him, so I walked away from the board mid lesson.  I sat down beside him and just listened.  But, what he remembered the most was that I told him we weren’t going to let this steal his smile today.

 

Sometimes the most impactful thing you can do is deter from what your plan was, listen to what God is asking you to do, and show kindness before moving forward. That same student a decade later still remembered that tiny moment. When he saw me out he came up to me and told me what an impact those words had on him. He hadn’t forgotten how I paused to make him smile.

 

The Bible says, “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.”As Christians, kindness should be who we are. We should show kindness in everything we do.  You never know how impactful such a small moment could be.

 

I pray as you take on this day that you stay unhurried and un-rushed. That you can show up with kindness in all the big and small moments headed your way. I pray your kindness makes a bigger impact that you can witness years later.

 

I pray as you walk through your day, in your highs and lows, that you can show kindness.  Be present, listen, show up in the moments that God needs you too.  Wearing a smile on your face in the midst of a battle just may be a shining example that inspires someone else.

 

---

Kelly Skelton is a Georgia native, raised in the south on Jesus, Georgia football and sweet tea.  She is her husbands’ biggest fan and her two daughters’ loudest cheerleaders.  She recently published her first children’s book titled, But God Had a Plan.  She stays active in the Dallas area as a  photographer, videographer, writer, and middle school teacher.

 

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Colossians 3:14 (ESV)

---

HOW DO YOU DEFINE KINDNESS?

 

For me, it is being present, being a listening ear, being a calm voice in the middle of someone’s storm. I think of small gestures, smiles and high fives.  I think of being the one who steps in when it feels like the world has turned its back. 

 

When I imagine kindness that Jesus showed as He walked the earth, I can’t help but picture a man with his hands constantly stretched out, a man that listened intently. I imagine a man that was judgement free as He helped and healed those He encountered.

 

One vivid image I have etched into my memory of kindness happened last summer. I watched as my mom  was given the gut-wrenching news that her breast cancer was back, and this time the prognosis was terminal. She had multiple tumors in her head, and her time here was more limited than we ever imagined. I stared at her  with tears streaming down my face as she lay stagnant in the dark hospital bed. The news of her prognosis was still washing over her, precious doctors and nurses continued to spill in and speak this overwhelming reality to her. All she did for those horrific hours was listen, soak it in and trust. She could have been filled with bitterness and anger.  She could have harvested resentment, lashed out or argued. After all, she’d already fought this fight and won just a few short years before.

But, she didn’t.  That’s not who she was and that was not who God was to her.

 

Instead, in those broken moments she spoke life into her nurses. She exuded joy, she smiled constantly, she inquired about her nurses’ lives.  With every shift change she started her kindness all over again.  She was fully invested in who they were, and less concerned with what she was going through. In those short days we spent in the hospital, my mom was the epitome of kindness to the crew that cared for her. She was a shining example of Jesus to them even in the midst of her darkest hours. After all, isn’t that what the Bible wants us to do? Are we ever really more like Jesus than when we are kind to others? You never know what impact a smile, small gesture, or kind words can have.

 

I pray as you walk through your day, in your highs and lows, that you can show kindness.  Be present, listen, show up in the moments that God needs you too.  Wearing a smile on your face in the midst of a battle just may be a shining example that inspires someone else.

 

---

Kelly Skelton is a Georgia native, raised in the south on Jesus, Georgia football and sweet tea.  She is her husbands’ biggest fan and her two daughters’ loudest cheerleaders.  She recently published her first children’s book titled, But God Had a Plan.  She stays active in the Dallas area as a  photographer, videographer, writer, and middle school teacher.