Jolene Underwood
About the Author

Jolene Underwood is an emotional health warrior and soul care mentor. She provides practical and spiritual support for cultivating life within the Christian soul by drawing upon her personal journey towards emotional health, her psychology background, and a passion for Christian counseling.

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
Find more at DaySpring.com
(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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  1. Jolene, it’s so wonderful to see your words here this morning–except that they are a rebuke to my bubble-life!
    Living inside my head, I miss so many opportunities just like this one. Thank you for seeing the need, daring to make an offer, and then getting under the burden of a total stranger.

    • Thank you for your kind words, Michele. I’m with you on living inside my head too often. Walking has been a good way to get out for a different perspective.

      So nice to hear from you, here!

  2. Our willingness to walk alongside someone opens the pathway for connected hearts. Connection is so so important. Your act of kindness speaks volumes on the importance of connection. God bless you! Your story and words have a deeper meaning for me tonight. Great post and good for you for kicking your fear of preconceived worries to the curb and doing God’s work. It may seem simple helping a stranger with their bags but you don’t know the effect it may have had for that lady. Kindness is Christ and you showed that kindness, we all need to do more of that in today’s world.

    • Thank you for your kind words, Jas. I’m glad the story offered deeper meaning too. I hope we can all see another, whether friend or stranger, with fresh eyes today.

  3. So true to this. One small act of kindness will always be remembered. And it doesn’t cost us a single thing. So thankful for people like yourself. We certainly need more people who are kind to their fellow human beings. We are all in this together. Thank you for sharing this.

  4. I loved this!!! When I was a little girl my grandfather would come and stay with us for a time. He could speak no English or at least very little and understood most of what was said but I could speak no Spanish and had no inkling of what he said. Yet his actions showed his love and I learned so much just from watching his actions. He had a routine that he followed religiously and I was fascinated by that. Reminds me that we are all connected and can find ways to communicate, it just takes a little extra time and willingness to go that distance. In the grand scheme of things, it requires very little and the rewards are tremendous

    • Loretta, what a beautiful story! Thank you so much for sharing it. I teared up with a smile just thinking about this experience for him and you. This is so true, “it requires very little and the rewards are tremendous.” It can feel awkward to engage when you don’t speak the same language, but the connection that happens beyond words is beautiful and hard to explain with words. The story of your grandpa sticks with me.

  5. In our Church we are doing a serious. Called Bless. Meaning who are you going to bless this week. Get along side. Showing them Jesus love. Even if they never heard Jesus. Don’t preach to them say you much be saved. Just get along side them like Jesus did. Show them the love of Jesus. Some may have problems. They may not open right away as might take awhile to trust you. But just stopping listing to their stories. Can lead you saying if the time right. You’ll know. Saying can I pray for you or I keep you in prayer. You helping carry that ladies shopping even though you did not speak same language. You where being the hands of Jesus and blessing that women. God sees you helping that women. He will bless you for doing that. He will be pleased you took the courage to go ahead and be a blessing to that women that day. We are encouraged in our church also to ask ourselves who are we going to ask out for coffee or even for lunch that would not maybe have much money etc. That thinks no one like me or I not wanted. Finding the courage to make that person feel special. Like Jesus would. As we are all Daughters of The king and Beautiful in Jesus eys as that person might not feel it. Us doing that might make the difference in their world. They could open up to us. We could be the person who could get them the christian help if we know christian counselors and they are want the help and are ready for it. God will let us know if we pray to him ask him if right to bring it up at all. Or just sit and listen to them. Be there for them. xxx

    • If I could tag a hundred hearts to this, I would. Wise words and I pray we all find courage to continually do this for others and receive it when it’s done for us. Sounds like a great series, Dawn.

    • If I could like this with a hundred hearts, I would. What a beautiful series you’re doing. I pray we’d all have the courage to step beyond our comfort zones and give to others. And that we’d receive well when it’s given to us. Beautiful!

  6. Jolene,

    Galatians 2 states: 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Jesus admonishes us to help each other out. It can be scary to go over to strangers & ask if they want/need help. You might be surprised with the friendship you make. There are so many simple ways to help others. We can simply offer to pray for them & do it there. Cooking a meal, carrying bags, visiting people in hospital.
    One thing we have here is “drive through difference”. The first Monday of a month if you go through a drive through you pay for the person behind you. The radio station has a letter you can hand the cashier to give that person. That is a quick & simple way to help brighten someone’s day. I’ve heard stories that people were having bad days & that was the pick me up they needed. One more way to shine God’s light down here. The hard part is getting out of our comfort zone, walking up to strangers & asking to assist. You might be rejected-big deal. At least we’ve made the effort & tried our best to show God’s love to this dark & sin filled world. On the upside they may take us up on the offer & we might just make a friend.

    Blessings 🙂

  7. “assumptions kill opportunities for connection”
    Yes! Oh, friend, this is so good. I want to tuck these powerful words into my back pocket and pull them out often. Thank you for sharing your heart and story with us. Such a joy to have your words here at (in)courage. xx

  8. Thank you for these wonderful words. They hit home today. Even the part about your exercise routine…do you have a blog or website?
    Blessings,
    Jen

    • Hi Jen! Yes, I blog at joleneunderwood.com. Would love to meet you in the Cultivated Life community. I’m glad the post resonated, even the workout part. 🙂 Regular exercise feels like a baby step endeavor, but I’m enjoying the benefits of it!