This article originally appeared in the October 2022 issue of HomeLife magazine. Subscribe here!
My kitchen contains some of my favorite things: my over-sized white Dutch oven; a watercolor painting of a bowl of fruit; my retro aqua hand-mixer. But the object I adore most is a lettered sign made from rustic barn wood. It’s stenciled with this simple sentiment: “Scatter Kindness.”
This sign hangs above the kitchen door that leads out to the garage, so I’m sure to see it every time I exit my home. Perched upon some homemade shiplap, it challenges me with this: We live in a world filled with turmoil, sadness, and despair. It doesn’t take much looking around to find a soul in need of a little encouragement or a healthy dose of hope.
I was once told that there are two types of people in the world. First, there are those who enter a room and announce,“Here I am!” And then there are those who walk into a room, seek out another soul, and lovingly declare, “Oh … there you are!” It makes me wonder, someday — when I’m long gone —will I be remembered as someone who sought to encourage others or sought only to make herself known?
The Bible tells detailed stories of the well-known people on its pages: Moses, Abraham, Joseph, Esther, and Mary, to name a few. But sometimes it gives us an intriguing glimpse of some lesser-known characters, sketching their stories in a simple sentence or two. One such character is the NewTestament woman named Tabitha. And the often-overlooked Tabitha reminds me a tad bit of my rustic reminder sign.
We meet her in Acts, where the story of the birth of the Christian church is recorded by a doctor named Luke. Acts also introduces us to the founders of the church, including two other recognizable people — Peter and Paul. But tucked away almost stealthily in its pages, we spy a portrait of a woman who demonstrated how to put others first and scatter kindness. I love the one-sentence description that follows just after we’re told her name: “Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, (which translated into Greek means Dorcas). She was rich in acts of kindness and charity which she continually did” (Acts 9:36, AMP).
What a beautiful introduction! While most personal descriptions mention relationships (such as “a wonderful wife and mother”) or career accomplishments (“a dedicated nurse”), this woman was known for continually looking for ways to scatter kindness. Concerned about others, she actively worked to make their lives better. In fact, her actions so radiated Christ’s love that the author of Acts recorded these words for us to read 2,000 years later in our Bibles.
One reason we know about Tabitha today is because she died, and Peter raised her from the dead. But as glorious as her resurrection was, her character is what impresses me: “She was rich in acts of kindness and charity which she continually did.” Oh, how this one sentence shakes my soul and stirs my heart!
If someone summed up our lives, giving a one-sentence eulogy about us, what would they say? Oh, I don’t mean a flowery one, I mean a totally honest one; one that said in a sentence what we were most known for in our families, churches and communities.
Would they say that we were hard workers who put our careers before everything else? Would they recall how we constantly went around slinging our unsolicited opinions— especially online? Or would they observe about us — likeTabitha — that we were “rich in acts of kindness” done for others? Could it someday be said about us that we not only scattered kindness a time or to, but that we continually did so because it was just part of who we were?
We can learn to see our humble and common circumstances as an opportunity for God’s eternal purposes, just asTabitha did. When we seek to scatter kindness, we put others before ourselves and we find an important and fulfilling ministry as we do.
Years from now, how will you be remembered? As a “Here I am” person, or as an “Oh … there you are” sort of soul? What will be your one-sentence eulogy?
About the author:
Karen Ehman is a New York Times bestselling author of 17 books, including Settle My Soul. She speaks for Proverbs 31 Ministries and is the mom of five — three by birth and two bonus children-in-law. Married to her college sweetheart, Karen resides in rural central Michigan.