Each kind deed, and each loving word I say may seem small, but it can open a world of kindness for people who cross my path.

The air was heavy with impending rain as I made my way to the hub of our town. As I glanced at the clouds that hung low and filled the gray sky, I silently berated myself for not bringing an umbrella. It seemed that in a minute or two the heavens would burst open, but two minutes came and went. I took care of my business, then turned toward home.

It was at the railroad crossing that my luck ran out. Huge drops fell from the sky as I stood waiting for the approaching train to pass so I could cross. Three trains, the signals announced. I would be standing in the rain for five minutes. Those around me had taken refuge under their umbrellas.

Typical, I thought, but I decided I wouldn’t let it faze me. After all, this wasn’t the first time that this had happened. Not this exact circumstance, perhaps, but others where I had found myself caught in the rain, unprepared. Each time I had put on a mask of indifference to people’s stares—and to the rain. “Yes, I like getting wet!” I wanted to say. Perhaps next time I would wear a sign.

A middle-aged woman walked up and stood next to me. There was nothing striking about her, and I would not have given her a second thought if it hadn’t been for what happened next. As she stood next to me, she quietly held her umbrella over both of us, shielding me from the rain. I was shocked out of my pretended indifference to the rain, and thanked her profusely. She smiled but didn’t say a word. I wondered what else to say. But as we stood there waiting for the train, I realized I didn’t have to say anything. She was one of those people who do not give a second thought to the acts of kindness they perform. We crossed the tracks together, and then went our separate ways.

As time passed, little opportunities came my way where I realized I had a choice to either do something to help others, or to let the chance slip by—opportunities to show God’s love to others, as that woman had to me that day. Offering my seat on a train. Helping a mother maneuver her baby stroller up a flight of stairs. Little things. And whenever I was tempted with the thought that it really made no sense to show kindness to strangers, I found good reason in the memory of the kind woman who shared her umbrella with me.

More importantly, I realized that each extra step, each kind deed, and each loving word I say may seem small, but it can open a world of kindness for people who cross my path. You think not? What difference could it make? Well, I’m sure that woman has long forgotten the kindness she showed a wet teenager years ago—lost in the many acts of kindness she has no doubt done since—but I haven’t forgotten. ■

Tomoko Matsuoka is a full-time volunteer with the Family International in Japan.