three acts of kindness

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

-Colossians 3:12

August 2017. Trader Joe’s. Baltimore, MD.

I stood at the till, waiting as the cashier checked my groceries. She asked me how my summer had been. I wasn’t sure if this was the usual American small talk or if she genuinely cared. Despite the uncertainty, I answered her honestly. I told her that I had had a horrible summer, to which she replied by asking me why it had been so bad. I told her that everything I had planned for the summer had unexpectedly fallen through. She told me she was sorry, and I told her it was okay. She turned around and whispered something to her colleague who quickly ran off upon receiving the message. As I was getting ready to pay for my groceries, she asked me if I liked chocolate. I smiled and told her I loved chocolate. She gestured to a bar of Trader Joe’s dark chocolate that was sitting on the counter and told me I could have one bar – for free. I wasn’t shocked because I had been given a free Trader Joe’s chocolate bar by a cashier a while ago, but I was happy. I grabbed the chocolate bar and grabbed my grocery bag. The cashier’s colleague came back with a bouquet of flowers which she handed to the cashier, who in turn handed the bouquet to me. She told me she hoped I would have a better summer the following year. Summer 2018 is going to be great.

June 2018. Pret-à-manger. New York, NY.

After an emotionally draining day and a two-hour bus ride from Philadelphia to NYC, my phone battery was down to 20% and my body was giving up on me. I decided to find a restaurant or a café where I could charge my phone and recharge my body before heading off to Jersey City, my final destination. I rolled my suitcase through the streets of Manhattan, searching for the cheapest food place, as my bank account wasn’t…full. Burger King, McDonalds, Dunkin’ Donuts – they were all too expensive and had no electrical sockets. After thirty-something minutes of tireless searching, I decided to try the Pret-à-manger on West 42^nd street. After making sure outlets were available, I browsed their food options which were also overpriced. I settled on a croissant and a hot chocolate to wash it down. As I was paying, I noticed that I had only been charged $3. I stared confusedly at the register screen. Upon noticing my confusion, the cashier told me he intentionally hadn’t charged me for the hot chocolate. I wasn’t sure why, but I smiled and thanked him. As I munched on my croissant and sipped on my hot chocolate, I couldn’t help but smile every time I remembered the small but impactful gesture. I made it home safely and happily.

June 2018. WORD Bookstore. Jersey City, NJ.

I love to browse the bookstore on Grove Street. I never buy the books; I simply make a list of books to buy for my future, epic home-library. On this particular day though, I wasn’t in a list-making mood. I walked slowly through the store, thinking about how awfully sad my day had been. I stopped at a decorative piece of wall-art that was some sort of rap name mind map. It had over a thousand names of rappers on it, organized into categorical flow charts. I love rap. So, I stared at it for ten minutes in an attempt to forget my sadness (that sounds so sad). One of the ladies from the bookstore’s café approached me and offered me a free cup of matcha tea that had been made on accident. I smiled and hesitantly accepted the offer. “It’s with skim milk,” she added as she walked away. I’m not sure why she chose me as there were other people standing nearer to the café. I thanked her, smiled, and continued to browse the bookstore as I sipped on my first ever cup of matcha tea. It turned out to be a good day.

That’s Jesus kindness.

God truly loves you.

With love,
Mandile.