Being the Miracle: When Kindness Saved My Life: From Dark Despair to Light

By Jared Harding Wilson

The quote on the image today is one that I carry in my heart: “Sometimes miracles are just people with kind hearts that God has sent you.”

I know this is true because I have lived it. There was a time in my life—a season so dark—that I was ready to throw in the towel on life itself. The despair was absolute. But in that moment, a person walked into my life who changed everything.

I didn’t even want to show myself kindness; I actually hated myself. But this person looked past all of that. He spoke kind words and simply asked how I was doing. He showed me compassion when I felt I deserved it the least. Then, he discovered I was fluent in Spanish and asked if I would help him learn.

That simple request gave me a purpose. It gave me a reason to stay. It was a miracle God sent my way. Since then, I’ve realized that we don’t always need a grand sign from the heavens; sometimes we just need someone to see us.

I am also incredibly lucky and grateful to have married my wife, who is the very definition of kindness. Every day, she is a living reminder of the light that exists in this world. I am so thankful for her heart and the way she chooses kindness in everything she does.

This reminds me of a story Hank Smith tells on the followHIM podcast. He was in a classroom where students were venting about their siblings, specifically how angry they got when they had to do their siblings’ chores.

A student named Toe raised his hand. Now, Toe was a very large, strong Samoan young man. Hank admits that when he saw Toe’s hand go up, he expected him to say something like, “I just thrash my brother until he does the dishes!”

But instead, the room was met with a total shock.

Toe nonchalantly said that if his brother doesn’t do the dishes, he just does them. No anger, no fight. Just quiet service. It turned out his brother was also in the class, and when asked about this arrangement, the brother mentioned that he gives Toe candy. Toe’s simple response? “I like candy.”

In a world that tells us to be “tough” or to “get even,” Toe chose a different path. He used his strength not to thrash, but to serve.

Kindness doesn’t have to be a monumental, life-altering event. It can be a simple, kind word or a quiet act, like stepping in to do the dishes without being asked. Not everyone you meet is facing a darkness as deep as the one I went through, but you would be surprised what the people around you are carrying in secret. We are often shocked when we hear on the news about an actor, a comedian, a pastor, a teacher—or even a close friend or family member—who has taken their own life. It reminds us that we truly never know the weight of the burdens others are bearing behind closed doors.

You never know what a single kind word can do. You might literally be saving a life, or you might just be the one person who finally lifts their spirits after a long, hard day.

There is already so much darkness in this world. We have a choice: we can add to that darkness by pointing the finger of shame and hatred, or worse yet apathy—or we can choose to show mercy and kindness. I am far from perfect at this, but it is a choice I make, to try every single day. I want to be the miracle that God sends to someone else. Because when someone did that for me, it gave me back my life.

Image created through Gemini by Jared Harding Wilson. All rights reserved.