“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”  (Matthew 10:42)   I have a cup of soup friend (well, actually she is a full service friend, a friend for all seasons, if you will – but lately she has been my cup of soup friend.)

And let me tell you, a cup of hot soup in winter, IS the proverbial cup of cold water in summer that Jesus was talking about in Matthew.  It renews and refreshes the soul just like water in the desert does.  This is what my friend has been doing for me, one cup of kindness at a time.  It may seem a small thing, this sharing of a cup of soup, but it is the small things that often have the biggest impact.  One of life’s many paradoxes to be sure.  (besides, this is homemade soup, so it is really good!)

Her gift of a cup of soup is her thoughtfulness, caring, and generosity put into practice, a tangible expression of my friend’s caring for me and for others as God would have each of us to do.  Now I don’t have my friend’s culinary skills, not even close.  So I have to figure out what my cup of soup is that I can share generously with others to show them God’s love and care.

How do I show kindness to others?  Then I thought of Proverbs 16:24 which tells me, “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” My cup of soup could be a cup of kind words spoken/given to others throughout the day, especially to those who are otherwise invisible, overlooked and unappreciated as they go quietly about their day.  I may not be aware of who it is that I come in contact with each day, who is literally starving for a cup of kind words.

So I need to share as many cups of kindness as I can, no need to be stingy with words of affirmation and encouragement.  Because Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death,”   I want to help with my words, not harm.

My cup of soup friend has reminded me that kindness can be best served a cup at a time, to one person at a time, one day at a time.  This is how she is changing, this is how I can change, this is how we change our world for the better – one cup of soup at a time.

“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”  (Proverbs 25:11)

sincerely,       Grace Day