Let’s show we care in simple, humble ways

Recently my 3-year-old great-niece came for a visit. She was outdoors for a while fishing and running around. When she came inside, she proudly presented me with flowers she had picked. Her small bouquet held White Clover and delicate purple Clasping Venus Looking Glass. After handing the flowers to me with a beaming smile on her face, she then asked her grandmother, my sister, to put them in water and place them in the kitchen so I could see them often. And there I kept them until they wilted, a daily reminder of her capacity to perform a simple act of kindness for me at such a young age.

My niece’s thoughtful gesture was not grandiose. The bouquet was small, and the flowers were humble wildflowers. But her act was heartfelt, an expression of her love. So often in life, we think that we have to perform grandiose acts in order to impress other people; big acts that a lot of people can see; staggering acts that cost a lot of money. And many times after completing a big act, we are left disappointed. The person or persons we were trying to impress weren’t impressed at all. All of the hours of preparation, all the money spent, are gone in an instant with nothing to show for it.

Perhaps we should be more like my great-niece. Let us show other people we care for them in simple, humble ways, like simply stating that you love that person or care for that person. Care for other people by spending time with them. Take them fishing. Take a walk together. Sit in the woods together and listen to the birdsong and the rustling sounds squirrels make running through the undergrowth. Perhaps your act of kindness may include a simple gesture, like picking a bouquet of wildflowers as a visible reminder of your love.

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.”  Matthew 6:28b-29

The Rev. Karen Dumey is the pastor of Hunter Memorial First Presbyterian Church in Sikeston.