Welcome to this daily encouragement from the Our Daily Bread Devotional.

Our meditation titled Simple Acts of Kindness was written by Alison Keita.

When my mom was in hospice and nearing her last days on earth, I was touched by the genuine kindness of a nursing home caregiver.

After gently lifting my frail mother from her chair and tucking her into bed, the nursing assistant caressed mom's head while leaning over her to say,

You are so sweet.

Then she asked how I was doing.

Her kindness moved me to tears then and still does today.

Hers was a simple act of kindness,

but it was just what I needed in that moment.

It helped me to cope, knowing that in this woman's eyes, my mom wasn't just a patient.

She cared for and saw her as a person of great worth.

In the book of Ruth, when Naomi and Ruth were bereft after the loss of their husbands,

Boas showed kindness to Ruth by allowing her to glean leftover grain behind the harvesters.

He even ordered the male harvesters to leave her alone.

His kindness was prompted by Ruth's care for Naomi.

I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law,

since the death of your husband, he said.

He saw her not as a foreigner or widow, but as a woman in need.

God wants us to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

As God helps us, our simple acts of kindness can cheer hearts, bring hope, and inspire kindness in others.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Ruth

Chapter 2, verses 1 through 2, and 5 through 11.

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