Realda loved to walk in the forest near her home.  She liked to wander on hot summer days into shady glades.  One in particular became her best hideaway place.  It had a small stream babbling at the bottom of a grassy hill and was surrounded by many shady trees.  Realda would throw herself down under a tree and lie on her back with a stem of grass in her mouth.  The she would dream of many things - of distant places and thrilling adventures!

One day she found a pair of small deer grazing in her favourite glade.  She crept up as quietly as she could and watched them as they contentedly munched.  Day by day she returned and slowly she was able to make friends with them.  Eventually they began to trust Realda and would not leap and bound away at her approach.

Realda often brought lunch with her and soon they became very tame and would take pieces of bread and lumps of sugar from her hand.   One day Realda thought she would play a trick on the deer.  She held out a lump of bread and then suddenly snatched it away just as one deer was about to take it from her hand.

The deer scampered off with her mate her heels.  At the edge of the glade they looked back as to say, "That rotten girl!"  And never again would they come back, no matter how Realda tempted them with bread and sugar.  Trust was broken and she had fooled them once and that was enough!

Perhaps the deer understood the meaning of kindness that 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 tells us:

"Love is patient and love is kind ... love does not delight in evil ...
Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres."

Kindness is one of the greatest things in the world.  The Bible tells us to be kind to one another, and to on keep trying even if we don't like someone.  A kind person is someone that you can always trust.   And kindness comes from a heart filled with love.

Are you a kind person?  I hope you are.  Remember to always be kind because if you are unkind, then like the deer, other people will no longer trust you!

God bless!