This experience humbled me deeply.
Some time ago, I invited a woman to join my class and offered her a scholarship as a small way of thanking her for her quiet faithfulness in helping out at my ministries. I didn’t know her personal struggles. I wasn’t responding to a crisis. I was simply doing what felt right in that moment.
Only later did I learn that she had been close to giving up—on hope, and even on life—when the invitation arrived.
That realization stopped me in my tracks.
Be kind. Everyone is fighting a battle that we don’t know about.
It reminded me how little we truly know about the private battles people are fighting, and how God, in His mercy, can use even our simplest acts when we are willing to listen and obey. This was not about insight or foresight on my part. It was about God meeting someone at the right moment and allowing an ordinary gesture to become something far more meaningful than I ever intended.
In a hurting world, not all of us will have the answers. Most of us won’t know the full story. But each of us can still do our part—by showing kindness, extending grace, and responding to small nudges to care.
Be kind. Everyone is fighting a battle that we don’t know about.
What may seem like a small gesture to us may become a lifeline to someone else.
May we remain attentive, humble, and willing—because sometimes obedience isn’t loud or dramatic; it’s quiet, unseen, and deeply life-giving.
“Let us not grow weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9
Written and shared with her permission.
