By Melanie Mar Chow

“And let us also live according to the Spirit of God that we might live out the not-so-random fruit of kindness. May we be deliberately kind each day, may we nurture an excellent attitude toward others, and grow in kindness as a way of life”.  —April Yamasaki, “Kindness: As a Way of Life”

But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  Romans 8:25-26a (NIV)

As you have watched as many suns circle the earth, I have been put through a continual practice of retrieving examples of how my life does not epitomize being kind, as an invitation to allow Christ’s light to guide me.  

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By April Yamasaki

Some say that Random Acts of Kindness Day started in Denver, Colorado in 1995, and by 2004, it had spread to New Zealand. Others say that the idea started in New Zealand, which is the only country in the world to have a national Random Acts of Kindness Day for the whole country. Still others trace the day’s history to California and a 1982 article by activist Anne Herbert: “Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Acts of Senseless Beauty.”

How fitting that the history of random acts of kindness should be so random! But clearly the world needs more kindness. From wars raging in many parts of the world to violence on city streets, from racial and other social injustice to playground taunts and rudeness at the grocery store, we could all use some relief.

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By Ajung Sojwal

I used to think kindness was easy, that it was a thing of good upbringing — and then a deep family crisis happened and there, I found myself confronted with all that I had been preaching about. I didn’t know it then, but I know now that it was the fire that not only tested but completely melted away my so-called authenticity of faith in God. In that family crisis, it wasn’t so much undying love or moral strength or deep wisdom that brought us out to the other side; it was kindness birthed from our collective experience of deep pain, of betrayal and loss. Naomi Shihab Nye, in her poem, Kindness, writes, 

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
What you counted and carefully saved,
All this must go so you know
How desolate the landscape can be
Between the regions of kindness.

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By Angela Ryo

When I found out this month’s theme is kindness, I thought about all the kindness I’ve received in my life. Many people — friends and strangers alike — who have been kind to me came to my mind. As I spent some time thanking them in my heart, I was reminded of one person who taught me the importance of being kind to myself. 

Joe was my supervisor when I was doing my CPE (clinical pastoral education) at a big hospital during my seminary years. He was an experienced chaplain who was compassionate yet firm. Needless to say, I admired him greatly. 

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By Julia Qiuye Zhao

I learned years ago about the Marshmallow experiment. This is the experiment where researchers gave young children one marshmallow each, telling them that they can eat it right away, or if they were willing to wait, they would receive two marshmallows later. These children were tracked into adulthood and it was claimed that those willing to wait generally did better in all measurable scales of success. The idea was that impulse control, or the ability to wait, or patience, was essential to success in life.¹  

I had always been skeptical that the ability to wait to consume candy in childhood could predict lifelong patterns. And so, when the study was criticized by those who asserted that the ability of the children to be patient depended not so much on innate ability for impulse control but on their tendency, based on experience, to trust adults in their lives to come through on promises, I felt vindicated.²  

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By Yuri Yamamoto

A red light, unexpected construction or a traffic jam slows me down, and I get anxious about being late. Take a deep breath. I choose to let go, refusing to let things out of my control take control of me. I am cultivating my patience as part of my resilience. 

My old boss, a white man of stature, used to gaslight me, and I had panic attacks on my way to work. Trembling, I often tried to take deep breaths so that I could function. 

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By Sarah D. Park

There is a certain story in my life that I wish was at peace. I wish that story was over because it had found satisfying resolution and I don’t have to think or worry about it ever again. It really has been told too many times, so on to fresh and better stories.

And yet, time and again, as I do the work of getting to know myself better and meeting myself where I am, it’s dawning on me that perhaps stories do not work like that in real life. The terrible things that happen to us are messy, sneakily tangled up in other stories, and I keep finding new knots to stare at in wonder as to how I ever missed them.

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By Diana Kim

For so long, I prioritized logic and reason over emotion. I thought that this was the wise thing to do. While the voice of logic and reason grew louder, the voice of emotion grew softer, ultimately being muted. I foolishly assessed emotion’s silence as emotion agreeing with logic: beecause emotion and logic didn’t clash, I thought I had inner peace.

Then, a rude awakening.

The voice of emotion can be silent no longer. Emotion cries out so vigorously that logic is frozen in place.

There is no inner peace.

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By Wendy Choy-Chan

When I read the AAWOL sharing this year on the Spirit-led life, nearly all of them were set in the context of community, speaking of the Spirit bearing fruit to bless different “one-another” relationships. 

With this week’s theme on peace, I first looked at myself and the peace within me — in what area do I not have peace within? And why? I realized that the lack of peace within has to do with a lack of peace in certain “one-another” relationships — a misunderstanding between me and a friend, a mistreatment (from my point of view) from someone, a disagreement with a co-worker, etc.. Besides the “one-another” community on earth, peace can also be lacking in the “one-another” community between me and the Triune God. Well, the Spirit is the Spirit of peace, Christ Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and God the Father is the source of all goodness, so the lack of peace is really from my end — wrestling with God, doubting God, resisting God. As such, the lack of peace within myself is in fact a reflection of the Spirit working in my heart, a battle between my old self and God, and peace is achieved when I submit before God and the Spirit transforms my heart, building up a new self in me to be Christ-like.

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By Tina Teng-Henson

“God of Justice, Savior to all…”
This spring your justice took too long to come,
And in my despair, I questioned everything.  
Gone was my eirene peace–
My brain warred with my heart
Returning over and over to what happened
What was I guilty of? 
Could there be any sin I could confess? 
Who fires a pastor during Holy Week
Then tells everyone I resigned?!
Why would you ask for help 
Only to set me up to fail? 
Why does this system not function? 
I jumped thru hoops just to reserve a room

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