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The Hideaway
Realda loved to walk in the forest near her home. She like 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. She would then 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.
Broken Trust
Realda often brought lunch with her and after she had satisfied herself,
she would play with the little animals. Soon they became very
tame and after a while 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!
Kindness
Perhaps the deer understood the meaning of kindness that the Bible 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" (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
Kindness is one of the greatest things in the world. The Bible tells
us to be kind to one another. A kind person is someone that you can
always trust. And love 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!
Copyright © 2006 Sharon Children's Ministries
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