Cut by the Knife, Struck by Kindness
In 505 Words
I was struck by kindness yesterday, in the most unexpected way.
Because I had the unusual occurrence of spending nearly an hour with a general surgeon yesterday while he conversed with me and his two nurses. I was able to experience this because I was awake while he injected me with a second round of novocaine, cut a sebaceous cyst out of my backside, cauterized the “bleeders” as he called them, and stitched me up.
From the moment I met him I noticed how polite he was and how calm in his demeanor. As time progressed, I was able to sense much more. He was kind and respectful to his nurses, kind to me, a genuinely kind man. Notice I’m not saying he was a kind doctor. Because this went beyond having a kind bedside manner. Kindness was hardwired into his very being, attached to a respect he held about himself and others. It was part of the way he held himself. It was in his very countenance.
And the situation didn’t permit me to know with certainty if he was a Christian or not. He might have been, the clinic was an offshoot of a Baptist Hospital, but the situation didn’t lend itself to me asking. But as he was also a middle age Indian man with an Indian accent, he may also have been Hindu. Regardless of his faith however, since the time I walked away I’ve been pondering the power of his kindness and the need for kindness we all have.
Because here was this man, Christian or not, who was kinder and gentler than many Christians I know, myself included. And yet we as Christinas are the ones called to be kind.
I share this observance because kindness isn’t always my first response. Sometimes I have to pull myself in and remember to be kind. Because I'm oftentimes frank and my words can be quite blunt and unintentionally harsh if I'm not careful. I might take a lesson from my writing in which I take the time to measure out my words with constraint, carefully considering each word before each sentence fully forms. I also share this that you might take a moment to consider kindness and how it’s operating in your life. The world has enough rudeness; let’s be instruments of God’s grace that the world would see more of the manifestation of the fruit of kindness. Even the smallest acts matter. And impact beyond what we might imagine.
At any rate, I met a very kind man yesterday, in the midst of what could have been an unpleasant experience. His kindness made it just a bit more less so. So Thank you Dr. Mahalati; your kindness was a medicine in itself. You will be remembered with fondness, though I hope to see you no more.
“Acts of kindness shouldn’t be random, they should be frequent and intentional.”
“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted…”
Excerpt from Ephesians 4:32