Housekeeping Tip #3: Be Kind to Yourself

“I often feel that when people look at me, they don’t really see me,” I whisper. “They notice my outfit, my husband, our business, the clean-enough house, or our home-schooled kids, and they think I have it all together.”

She knows I’m not looking for affirmation. So she waits. She allows the words to come, unrushed, when I’m ready.

“What they don’t see,” I finally continue, “Is that I come with so much baggage. Others don’t always recognize the work that has been done to heal my heart. They don’t know that, while things appear easy on the outside, none of it has come without a hard-fought battle.”

She watches my face carefully, allowing me time to talk and to process. When she replies, her words make me stop and I tilt my head, absorbing the simple wisdom.

“You’re beautiful,” she says. “That’s easy to see.”

Then she continues:

“The baggage? Everyone has that. You’ve just learned to carry yours well. I love that you take what you’ve learned and are using it to heal the world, starting at home.“

I tuck her words into my heart and I remember her encouragement like some memorize a handwritten note from a loved one.

I’m not alone. Everyone has baggage. Healing the world starts at home.

It starts with me. And it starts with you.

Healing begins with kindness. To ourselves and to those within our household. It begins with a nice word, a gentle smile, a soft touch.

Kindness begins with making ourselves a soothing cup of tea when we’re sick. It starts with caring for our homes so we can give ourselves a soft place to land after a long day.

Kindness continues to heal whenever we offer grace, not judgment, to those who fall short of our expectations and desires.

Kindness? It may seem small, but it can heal our hearts, and it can heal the world. Let the healing start at home, within ourselves. And as we heal, let’s use what we’ve learned to help heal the hearts of others.

“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24, NKJV

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Tidy Friends, my preacher recently delivered what may be the most beautiful sermon I’ve ever heard. His 17-month old niece died after a heartbreaking battle with cancer, and he spoke from a place deep within his own heart straight into the souls of other broken spirits.

As you wrestle with your inner wounds, I encourage you to listen to Mark Day’s sermon about Faith in the Face of Questions. As we battle through tough things, we ask tough questions. We wonder if God cares and we want to know if He really is good. My friends, I can tell you that He cares and He is good. Listen here.

Share with us – how has kindness helped to heal your own heart? What words of encouragement have you kept tucked away in your memory bank? Share your healing thoughts with the Tidy Up community, either as a comment on this article or in the private Facebook group, and let’s grow together.