We are in Advent, preparing to celebrate God’s incredible act of kindness to us human beings. Kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, meaning that God is alive and active in us. On the Internet I saw a list of things considered good etiquette. This inspired me to draw up a list of twenty ways we can practice kindness, which is a form of love. My ideas are simple, ordinary ways to be kind. Here they are:

1. Hold the door open for someone.
2. When conversing in a group and someone makes a statement you know to be false, resist correcting him or her unless it is important.
3. Leave the best or largest serving of food for another person to take.
4. Let someone know when her slip or a tag on her sweater is showing.
5. Offer to help someone who is carrying a number of items.
6. When someone does a good job, don’t just think it but let them know.
7. Send a sympathy card.
8. Pay a sincere compliment about someone’s hairdo or attire.
9. When a driver is trying to enter a street from a parking lot or driveway, let them in.
10. As you drive, remember to use your turn signal.
11. When someone has been gone awhile, tell them you missed them.
12. If a person is facing surgery or other trying event, assure them you will pray for them.
13. Volunteer for a job no one else wants.
14. Recommend a good book or a good movie so others can enjoy it.
15. Donate to a worthy cause.
16. When someone drops an item, pick it up for them.
17. Spend time talking with someone you don’t particularly care for.
18. Give someone directions.
19. Share a recipe.
20. Draw someone into a conversation.
21. Address a person by his or her name.
22. Give someone an unexpected gift, maybe a homemade one.
23. Remember a person’s birthday.
24. Say “God bless you” when someone sneezes.
25. Smile at someone for no reason at all.

This list was easy to compile. What other ways can you think of to be kind?