Small Acts of Kindness

​​I was flipping the channels the other night and paused on The Hobbit, one of my favorite movies (The book is better, of course).  I came across this quote from J.R.R. Tolkien that made it into the movie:  “I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay, small acts of kindness and love.”  It is so true.  The quote made me think of two events, one recounted in Scripture, and one modern example.  In the 12th Chapter of Mark, Jesus was watching people put money in the offering box at a synagogue and saw many rich people putting in large sums and also saw a poor widow who put in two small copper coins.  Jesus was moved by this act of kindness and said:  "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”  Mark 12: 43-44.  The second example comes from the Bethel Children's Centre in Kenya.  When children at Bethel learned of a "poor" orphanage several hours away, they gathered their own clothes (most of which has been donated to the Centre by local churches in Kenya), and gave that to the children at this other orphanage.  The story still moves me today, but one thing struck me last night.  Someone likely donated the clothes to the Bethel kids, making possible the further gift of kindness of the Bethel children to this other orphanage.  We don't know the effect a kind word, a simple gift or a small act of kindness can have.  Therefore, "let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works."  Hebrews 10:24.