Day 5: Kindness

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Matthew 22:37

Reflection

Kindness begins with having self-compassion. Because you can't extend what you don't give to yourself. Being compassionate to yourself and understanding that I'm not perfect and I have to be able to forgive myself for things so that I can then extend that to other people.

This is important especially as women and black women, for sure, we give, give, give, but who gives to us?

Who gives the superhero the voice and when does the superhero get a chance to recharge

There's a connection between not being kind when we feel tired and depleted and being very kind when feeling abundant and taking care of ourselves.The kindest gift we can give to ourselves is to intentionally pull away, take the time to replenish and to fuel back up. Whether it is taking a nap on a Sunday afternoon or forgiving yourself and knowing that it's okay that you don't have it all together. It may not always be the easiest thing to do but it is always the kindest.

Prayer

God, we thank you for today. We thank you for a time of coming together and gathering in your name to intentionally seek you, to know that without you we can do nothing and with you we can do all things including taking care of ourselves. Right now, God, we commit to renew our devotion to ourselves. We thank you for loving us with the gifts of our bodies.

We ask that you would help us to be kinder to ourselves that we might radiate that kindness and love to everyone that we come into contact with.

We thank you God for loving us, and for demonstrating kindness to us even in your acts while you're here with us on the earth. We thank you God for this opportunity to gather as women, strong women, women committed to do something bigger and better than we already have. We know that you have great purpose for us and that great movements has happened through women simply moving their feet. We love you, God. We magnify your Holy and majestic name and it's in your name that we pray and ask all of these blessings. Amen.

Walking Assignment

Today, perform an act of kindness in your neighborhood. As you walk today, keep your eyes and your heart open to what your community needs. Perhaps you need to plant flowers. Maybe you need to pick up some litter on the corner. Maybe you need to take books to a local senior citizen home or give a card to a grieving neighbor. Let the Lord lead you on this one. Start by greeting every single person you pass with a warm hello, good morning, God loves you, or simply by acknowledging them with your eyes and a friendly nod. Pray for the health of every person you pass today. Pray that God's light will shine through you on your walks.