THE MORAL OF THE STORY

Cindy Trane Christeson

“Be a living expression of God’s kindness.”

-- Mother Teresa

I was so enthralled watching the sweet scene in front of me that I

didn’t notice the woman behind the counter signaling me over to her

register. Finally the man behind me tapped me on the shoulder and pointed

to the woman, who was patiently waiting. I made my apologies and after

paying for my books, walked a few steps away to quietly continue

watching. What I saw made me smile, and I’m sure God was smiling too.

A cute girl who looked about 3 pretended to read a book to her little

sister in a stroller. The girls were in matching pink outfits and had

matching dimpled smiles. The book was upside down, but that didn’t seem

to stop the words, the inflections or the gestures.

The little sister smiled and giggled as she tried to grab the book out

of her big sister’s hand. The woman, I assumed must have been their

mother, was watching nearby while also looking at some books. Then an

elderly gentleman asked the mother something and I heard her say, “Of

course you can. She would love that. Thank you for asking.”

The man bent down and held out some stickers for the girl. The girl

hesitated, looked back at her smiling mother who then nodded approval.

“Oh, yes. Thank you very, very much,” the little girl said. “Can I

have one for my little sister too?”

I was impressed that one so young had such mature thoughtfulness. The

man seemed touched as well. He gave a sticker to the older girl, and put

one on the pudgy hand of the little sister. The little girl looked at

the sticker, then back up at the gentleman and back at the sticker again.

She squealed in delight and left the sticker on her hand. The man patted

the older sister on the shoulder and slowly headed for the door.

A teenage girl with a colorful outfit and a friendly face had also

been watching. She put a book back on the shelf and walked quickly over

to the door to hold it open for the gentleman.

“God bless you,” the man said, as he patted her on the shoulder and

walked out the store.

I was still feeling warm inside as I left the shopping center and

headed to the market. While stopping at a major intersection, I was

touched again by what I saw. A repairman pulled his truck over and hopped

out to help a woman with a cane as she crossed the busy street.

Everybody waited patiently, not only until the woman had crossed safely,

but also while the man ran back to his truck. Several of us spontaneously

waved and yelled “thank you” to the repairman.

I talked about this with my daughter, who had also experienced people

helping one another recently at the airport.

“It seemed like everybody was looking out for each other,” she said.

I’ve heard it said that kindness is God’s goodness acted out. I pray

that we all find ways to spread God’s love, that random acts of kindness

become less random and common courtesy becomes more common.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at o7

cindy@onthegrow.comf7 or through the mail at P.O. Box 6140-No. 505,

Newport Beach, CA 92658.