Debb Hackett

Kindness by Beth Duewel

“If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but a the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing… So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.” (1 Corinthians 13, 16 MSG). 

A few weeks ago, my daughters and I (minus one who is killin’ it and working hard on her nursing degree), went to Savannah, Georgia. And how much fun can you have there? ALL OF IT. My stretchy pants do not lie. And I walked what seemed ten wobbly, rockish miles, and then bawled like a baby when I finally got to her: The Waving GIRL.

She’s a statue that stands nine feet tall on River Street. It is Florence Martus, her arms held high and holding what looks to be a towel. A handkerchief. A banner? Florence was born in the 1800’s and is famous for having greeted each ship entering the Savannah Harbor. It’s said that over a period of 44 years she waved to the ships with a white towel by day—and with a lamp by night. You GUYS, she never missed a ship! Her loyal dog was with her, too.

If this isn’t the picture of passion and strength and courage and kindness, I don’t know what is.

The granite words on her statue read: ‘The Waving Girl. Her immortality stems from her friendly greeting to passing ships. A welcome to strangers entering the port and a farewell to send them safely onward.’ I stood small and it looked like her dress was billowing and stuck in time against the brightest sky. My mascara streaming. My girls wanted to know why I was crying so hard, and I still don’t know. Maybe it’s because her humble acts of kindness are opposite to the conversations we sometimes have.

This entire world pushes big. Big platforms, big achievements, big dreams, big and exciting days. And hey, this life is some kind of big and wonderful ride, for sure. In fact, if you have a grande cup of coffee—I’ll take it! But this has been my thing, my theme these past few months. Allowing my world to get smaller. Intentionally freeing myself to notice the smallness in this day, and in quietness with Jesus, I’m living a bigger life. 

If you want to change the world. To know your small efforts, small acts of love, large piles of laundry, sleepy bedtimes stories, and repeated prayers do not go unnoticed. If you want to understand that the precious person God created you to be, you can—and WILL—make a big difference in this world. BEHOLD. This is the BIG STAGE. A towel. A lamp. An act of courage. A wave of kindness. A service of love. 

A bigger life

Jesus shows us what a bigger life looks like: letting others know that they matter more. Florence waved a towel just to tell the souls floating by the shore that they would not pass by her unnoticed. Unselfishly served strangers in the wind and beating rain from the grasses of a distant shore. This woman is a hero. I’m not going to equate her with just being plain old nice. I’ve been on the receiving end of God’s loving, grit-bearing, relentless, chasing-me-down kindness—and believe me, kindness is not merely being nice. 

I don’t always have it in me, enough niceness like this, I mean. Sometimes I feel like throwing in the towel rather than waving it. I lose the courage to pray hard or try again. And for some selfish reason, I don’t always have the selflessness to serve others. I mean, right this very moment I don’t even want to make my own cup of coffee. But Jesus is kind. In Him I have the hope of the Holy Spirit teaching me and helping me to live big like this, ‘More love, more kindness.’ I want to be a ship chaser. A kind greeting in the harbor to those around me. It’s not just a wave, it’s life. 
I’m praying for you, friends. Do a small, kind thing today. Wave your towel. Chase the ships.