Pray With Her!

Stephen Grellet wrote, 'I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again'"

Have you ever missed a moment to help someone or to be kind to someone because you were shy or hesitated--or perhaps you thought you'd get another chance to do so? Then you found that the moment had passed and you had missed the opportunity to act? I have.

I can remember once visiting a sister who was an inactive member of our church. Her home life was tough, her morals low, her habits dragging her so low. The spirit of her home was prickly and I couldn't feel the Holy Ghost until I began to take my leave through the front door.

As my feet hit the front porch I felt the words, "You did not pray with her!" so strongly that it pained my heart.

Of course I had been kind and compassionate and had done much good. But she had needed us to pray with her and I had failed to understand.

Thank goodness I did pass that way again. The following month my visiting teaching companion and I were again allowed to enter into this womans home. I apologized for not taking the time to pray with her the previous month. I then asked if I could pray with her then. She smiled and said, "Oh! Yes please pray!" I have never hesitated again to pray with someone as the spirit has prompted me to do so. It was a lesson well learned.

This moment taught me to act on the promptings fo the spirit. To reach out in kindness to others has a familiar feeling for me. I try to do this daily now. Sometimes it comes in the form of encouragement within a simple e-mail. Or it can be a phone call to someone who is lonely or recovering from an illness. Most often it's simply being kind to my husband and children.

I've found that it's much easier than I thought, to be kind. Anyone can do it with a little practice. We have it within all of us, to do good for others, to be kind where kindness is lacking. We can all make a difference in someones life if we just take the time to do so.