I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I’ve noticed a lot more anger in the world lately. I’ve seen road rage, reckless driving, impatience, rudeness… Just yesterday I was on the receiving end of a neighbor’s wrath as I was cleaning up my dog’s poo. I won’t go into the details of it. It didn’t make sense. It caught me completely by surprise. It upset me. But as I talked about it with friends, I realized, with their help, that this neighbor might have been having a bad day and I may have had a target on me, a scape goat for his anger… It didn’t make it right. It didn’t excuse bad behavior. But it did help to change my perspective. Kindness counts. We have no idea what another person is going through at any given moment. The person working at the cash register, the person making your coffee, the person pumping your gas, the person driving recklessly, the child acting out… Kindness counts. I’m not a confrontational person. I tried to diffuse the situation even though the anger was unwarranted and I did nothing wrong. I apologized. I told him to have a nice day. It made him angrier. I was lost for words in the sea of his spewing. So I opened my mouth and was surprised at what came out. “Jesus love you,” I hollered. “I hope you know that Jesus loves you.” He didn’t say another word. I don’t know what kind of day he was having. I don’t know what kind of life he is having. Maybe he was having an isolated bad day or maybe he’s just a miserable old man. I didn’t help him by being kind, but I know I definitely would not have helped by dropping to his level and engaging his anger. Kindness counts. We all struggle. We all have bad days. What are you going to do with your bad day? Are you going to take it out on an unsuspecting stranger or a familiar face? Or are you going to recognize that some days are like that and use the tools you have to manage and deal with your emotions? Kindness counts. I won’t lie. That confrontation, kind of ruined my day. He got under my skin. The emotions were upsetting and exhausting. But, I put on my big girl pants. I prayed for this neighbor. And even though it was hard, I took a day trip with my family and did a rock climbing hike. I got my endorphins going. I pushed my body. I watched my boys in the present and recalled them from the past times we took this same hike. That angry neighbor could frazzle me but he couldn’t steal my peace or my joy because those are found in my Lord and Savior. Kindness counts. We can always take our life experiences, good and bad, and learn and grow from them. Next time I am having a bad day, I will try to consider my words, my tone. A bad day doesn’t qualify anyone to ruin someone else’s. But if we can recognize someone’s bad day, even if we are on the receiving end of it, we can try to help them, offer a smile, a gesture, a loving word. Kindness counts.

“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1