Kindness

By Pastor Paul Gauche

Today’s Word: KINDNESS as in… Frosty.

Frosty Westering was a legendary football coach at three schools, including my alma mater, Pacific Lutheran University, in Tacoma, Washington. He compiled a career college football coaching record of 305-96-7 and never had a losing season. Frosty led his teams to eight national championships, winning four, retired as the ninth winningest coach in college football history, and in 2019, ESPN ranked Frosty 39^th on the list of “150 Greatest Coaches in College Football.”

I didn’t play football for Frosty, but because I was in the pep band for all of the home games, I like to say, “I played for Frosty.” I don’t remember a single piece of music we played, but I’ll never forget what Frosty taught his players: “In the game of life when someone gets knocked down, you be the first one to help them back up.”

Frosty Westering modeled that in his life; he was an authentically kind man.

Helping people up when their down, being aware of the needs of others, showing compassion, and welcoming strangers. These are all acts of kindness.

Our ancient Hebrew sisters and brothers practiced kindness as a sacred act by keeping one’s house always open and welcoming to strangers. The Hebrew scriptures give us a glimpse of this as Abraham and Sarah kept all four sides of their tent open for guests coming from every direction.

This is a powerful metaphor for us. While not advocating irresponsible property stewardship, there are ways of “opening the four sides of our tents.” Being open to those we know and love, being open to those we may not know, and even being open to those who may be difficult to love are all ways of showing kindness. It’s a risk, but showing love and kindness is always a risk.

Thriving Reflections:

++ Recall an act of kindness that you witnessed that made an impression on you.

++ What gets in the way of showing kindness?

++ How do you show kindness to yourself?

++ Is there a correlation between the kindness you experience and the kindness you express?

#100days50words

#Thriv’ëra

Paul Gauche is the Pastor of Life Transitions at Prince of Peace. His posts are part of his #100days50words project, where he blogs about a different word each week. You can follow his project on Instagram (@pgauche) or his blog, Thriving Rhythms.