Raising Peacemakers in a Noisy World
Kindness Begins With Me There is a Primary song that says, “I want to be kind to everyone, for that is right you see. I say to myself, remember this kindness begins with me.” Those words have been on my mind a lot lately. As I hear things in the news, things happening in my town, and even things my kids tell me about school, I keep coming back to that simple line: kindness begins with me. If I want more love in the world, more patience in my home, and more peace in my community, it has to start with my own heart. Recently I listened to a talk by Gary E. Stevenson titled Blessed Are the Peacemakers . Several things he said really stood out to me. “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” He taught that being a peacemaker begins in the most basic place in our hearts. We replace contention and pride with forgiveness and love. We build bridges of cooperation and understanding. We respond with kindness. We deliberately build others up instead ...