Kindness: A Respite for our Souls

“The LORD be with you.”

Ruth 2:4

The smallest gesture of kindness can refresh someone’s soul. 

While waiting for assistance recently, a young adult with a developmental disability suddenly announced to me, “My daddy just died from COVID.” 

“Oh, I’m so very sorry!” I replied.

With that she walked over, knelt and laid her head on my table in sadness. I stroked her shoulders, and we grieved together in silence. What connected us? I’m not certain, but I think I had smiled at her, a very small but apparently meaningful gesture.

Scripture offers us glimpses of similar moments of soul connectedness through kindness. I recently studied a dark time in Israel’s history—a time when judges ruled. It was a time when, “Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.” I witnessed mankind’s depravity chapter-by-chapter. The study also included the book of Ruth, which many scholars believe occurred during this same dark time of the judges. Perhaps, that’s why this redemptive story starkly contrasts so brightly with the harsh realities of the era.

As the story goes, an obscure moment of kindness, a simple greeting, shone among the tragedy of famine, widowhood and poverty. It occurred as Boaz arrived to check on his reapers. He addressed them with a blessing, “The LORD be with you.” These five words acknowledged the workers presence, their humanity and their value. The greeting also provided a moment of affirmation that surely lifted their spirits during their back-breaking labor.

I believe the author of Ruth intentionally recorded Boaz’s greeting. This ancient moment in time continues to bless and encourage me today as I seek to grow in sensitivity, just like Boaz, to those around me. Won’t you join me?

Linda Les