One Saturday last year, my family rode our bikes to the downtown city market. Each weekend, the market takes over a parking lot and presents a diverse group of vendors’ booths. The place overflows with organic produce, baked goods, and every imaginable artisan craft creation (jewelry, paintings, woodwork, and more).

My son set his eyes on a colossal-sized muffin. Preparing to pay for it, I stood in line behind an elderly woman. Tall but slightly stooped, she wore a faded denim shirt and a flowing blue skirt. Her silver hair touched her shoulders, a beauty undiminished by her age. Attempting to step away from the table, the matron turned toward me. She caught me unaware, and I froze. We met face to face, only 2 or 3 inches separating us. Without any hesitation, she smiled wide and pointed a finger at my goatee. “My, my,” she chuckled—her kind, raspy voice barely more than a whisper. “Isn’t that a cute mustache!” Then she shuffled past me.

That simple human exchange brought me joy for days to follow. It seemed the most natural thing for that precious woman to put her hand to my face, to hold my eyes with hers, to speak a word of delight.

Paul knew the power of such simple humanness, of kindness—energized by the Holy Spirit—extended to those we encounter. “We all belong to each other,” the apostle reminds us (Romans 12:5). We need one another. We were intended for human words, touch, and compassion. And this isn’t (primarily) a call for grand, overwhelming gestures and sacrifice. It’s simple kindness, extending hospitality and a warm welcome.

“If you have a gift for showing kindness,” says Paul, “do it gladly” (Romans 12:8). May God’s kindness flow through us to others.

NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Jeremiah 36:1-32