The Fruits: Kindness

                    But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

    gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.

Galatians 5:22

    Kindness is something easy to preach; it's not so easy to follow in action. 

    When I first started my freshman year, I didn't really know a lot of people. I was living apart from my family for the first time ever, and it was a new experience that I had never encountered. I was a little nervous, but the person who never failed to make me feel at home was my sweet friends Chesney. 

    Chesney is sunshine in human form. She is always smiling, and never fails to make me laugh. Chesney is genuinely one of the kindest individuals I met, even though she would absolutely deny this fact. She is humble and kind, and shows the love and kindness of the Lord in everything she does. 

    Chesney has a heart of gold, and is genuine through and through. She loves her people loudly and cares for them so well. I had the absolute pleasure of being one of her residents last year, and now I get to work alongside her as an RA. In the year that I have known Chesney, I have learned so much from her and still have so much to learn. 

    Chesney loves people well, even when it might be difficult. As an RA now, I know there were moments last year where she might have been tired or run-down from life, but that never deterred her from being a good friend. She always listens intently, and after a conversation with her you always feel better. There was a period of time where Chesney was trying to remember my birthday, as well as my friend's birthdays. Every time she saw us, she would come up to us and recite our birthdays from memory. Not to be a show, but because she genuinely cared and wanted to get to know us. 

    Just from observing her and talking to her, Chesney has taught me how to love people, and love them well. She's taught me how to listen carefully, even when I might not feel like it. There's an old saying that says "People will forget what you said, but they won't forget how you made them feel". While that's true of Chesney, I can only hope that's true for me as well. Because the Lord put so many wonderful people in my life I can learn from, if I'm even half the person Chesney is, then I'll be alright.