Be kind to one another. Ephesians 4:32

It was raining out. Irma and her younger sister Lorraine played indoors with jigsaw puzzles. The puzzles were the same - a picture of farm animals - but the girls did them differently.

Irma finished hers quickly. Lorraine held one piece in her hand, then put it down and picked up another piece. She was having trouble doing the puzzle. She scowled at Irma and burst out, 'You're a show-off. You just do it quickly because I can't.' She pushed the puzzle pieces away.

Irma opened her mouth to scold Lorraine for being angry. Then she remembered a verse she'd read that morning. 'Be kind to one another.' She put her arm on Lorraine's shoulder. 'This is how I do puzzles,' she said quietly. 'I take all the border pieces, you know, the ones with straight edges. When I've found them all, I put them together first. Now I have a kind of box to work in.'

'Uumh,' Lorraine grunted. 'I'm sorry I was mad at you.' She started to pick out the straight-edged pieces. 'What do you do then?'

'I take all the bits that are about the same color - and the picture on the box helps me to see where the bits go. Let's do it together.'

Working together the girls soon finished doing the puzzle.

'Thanks Irma,' Lorraine whispered. 'I'm glad you helped me.'

'You're welcome,' Irma replied. It felt good to be a helper.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for everybody who helps me. Make me a helper too. For Jesus' sake. Amen.