Show God's Love with a Random Act of Kindness #FCBlogger

**A huge thanks to Family Christian for sponsoring today's post. All thoughts are my own.

Have you ever been on the receiving end of a random act of kindness?

If you haven't yet had the experience, I must say- it's a pretty wonderful one... and one that I've been blessed with on more than one occasion. There was a time during my husband's ever-so-busy days as a Marine Corps recruiter that my family went out to lunch together only to have our meal cut short when my husband had to rush back to work before we even ordered. A fellow diner saw and paid for our meal. There was a time that I allowed someone to go before me in line at a drive thru and they thanked me by paying for my order. There was even a time when a kind lady whom I'd chatted with while shopping gave me money to buy my son some Valentine's Day goodies at a post holiday clearance when my husband had somehow ended up with my debit card for the day, saying she didn't want my son to miss out on his goodies if they sold out before I could return.

Yes, there are some truly kind people in this world! Those little acts may not seem like a lot, but they can truly make such a difference in someone's day. You never know what someone is going through and when they just need that little bit of a fun surprise to turn their day around. Is there any better way to show God's love than through these little random acts of kindness? Where we expect nothing in return, but just want to make someone else smile?

Performing a random act of kindness can be very simple, and doesn't have to cost a ton of money either. Here are just a few simple ideas:

• Hold open a door for a mom with full hands.
• Buy a stranger a cup of coffee.
• Leave a dollar or two in your Redbox return- snacks are on you!
• Help a stranger load up their groceries (especially appreciated in cold weather!)
• Compliment a stranger.
• Allow someone to go before you in the checkout line (especially nice for moms with little ones!)

With the help of Family Christian, I was recently able to make a trip to my local store and do a few random acts of kindness myself! I was given $50 worth of Appreciation Certificates to bless others with. A few were given to people who I knew could benefit from that little pick me up, but the others have been or will be taken into the store to be given to random shoppers.What a fun surprise, right? Can you imagine shopping for something you want or need and being given a gift certificate to help fund that purchase? I truly hope that the receivers have been and will be blessed by this simple, random act of kindness.

And can I be honest? As wonderful as it is to be on the receiving end of an act of kindness, being on the other side feels just as wonderful! So this Valentine's Day, and throughout the year- I want to encourage all of you to pay it forward. Show God's love with a simple random act of kindness.

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. - John 13:34