This kindness devotional will help you explore how the fruit of the Spirit grows in your motherhood journey, inviting you to show kindness to others and to yourself, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Other Devotionals in the Fruit of the Spirit for Moms series:
- Choosing Joy
- Peace in our Mothering
- A Mother’s Unconditional Love
- Biblical Patience: A Call to Moms
- Faithful to Our Calling
- A Devotional on Kindness
- Cultivating Self-Control
- The Power of Gentleness
- The Fruit of Goodness
Watch the Fruit of the Spirit for Moms devotional series on YouTube.
This page may contain affiliate links. To view my full affiliate link disclosure, click here. There are Amazon affiliate links in this post. As an Amazon Associate, I make a small commission from Amazon links in this post. Find our privacy policy, terms of service, and more information about user data by visiting the links above.
I’ll be honest: I wasn’t exactly excited to write a kindness devotional.
Kindness feels… obvious, right? From the first time we snatched a toy away from our sibling, someone was there reminding us: “Be kind.” By the time we heard about random acts of kindness, kindness was stamped into every VBS memory, youth group devotion, and local church sermon we’d ever heard.
Of course, we should be kind. Say a kind word. Smile at the cashier. Let the person with the fussy toddler go in front of you at Costco. It’s what good moms do.
And yet, as I sat on another rainy Wednesday, my coffee cooling beside my homemaking planner (which can actually be quite a helpful resource), with a pile of birthday party supplies staring at me in my closet (my two-year-old’s birthday is this weekend), my mind kept racing with my to-do list:
- Weed the landscaping.
- Clean the bathroom.
- Sweep the floors.
- Find our outdoor games.
- Get the party favors bagged.
- Finish the kindness devotional draft.
Not to mention all the normal homekeeping and working mom tasks.
And then, because I am me, I started adding:
- Oh, deep-clean the windows too.
- Maybe repaint that trim in the hallway.
- It’s a good thing to organize the mudroom quickly.
- Maybe declutter the entire house before 4:00 p.m., when Dan typically gets home.
Because that’s what we do, isn’t it, mama? We pile on more and more, stretching our capacity until it frays around the edges.
Check out the homemaking planner that I use daily!
And it was in that exact moment, coffee now cold, a cooing baby next to me, rain tapping gently at the window, that the Holy Spirit hit me like a ton of bricks:
“But Rachael, are you kind to yourself?”
The Fruit of Kindness
I’ve read the Fruit of the Spirit in God’s Word so many times:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23 ESV
The Apostle Paul lists kindness right there, and I think I’ve glossed over it for decades. I’ve studied kindness in devotionals (the linked devotional is by some Minnesota moms in my area!), I’ve encouraged my children to practice simple acts of kindness. I’ve encouraged others to let their light shine through good deeds in Christ Jesus to reflect God’s kindness.
But you know what I missed? True kindness isn’t only for others; it flows from God’s love into our hearts, into our homes, and then back to ourselves.
I believe the Heavenly Father delights when we have tender hearts toward others and ourselves. Of course, we are sinful, and sometimes we need to give ourselves a slap of gospel talk when our hearts are wicked, but there’s a balance in all things, and beating ourselves internally over our weaknesses will not produce in us a Fruit of the Spirit.
Are We Kind to Ourselves?
Mama, when was the last time you spoke a kind word to yourself?
When did you last pause that never-ending to-do list, look around, and say,
“O Lord, thank you for the energy you’ve given me, and I am allowed to rest.”
When did you last let your love of God shape your day instead of the guilt of unfinished chores?
When did you last let the help of the Holy Spirit guide you toward compassionate hearts for your own soul?
If you’re anything like me, you might feel like your to-do list makes you holy. Like the more you accomplish, the more God will love you, the more your family will love you, the more the world will see your efforts.
But God saved us through Jesus. We are daughters of the Most High, and His love is not tied to the tasks we check off. The good news is we can let go of the endless striving and simply abide in His love, even if the laundry sits in the basket one more day.
The Ripple Effect
Kindness, like a pebble thrown into a pond, creates a ripple effect. Often, we talk about extending kindness outside of the home. At the grocery store, in the drive-through, or to the homeless person. But what about inside our home? Your simple acts of kindness to your child can shape the atmosphere of your home. We are the spiritual and emotional thermostat of our home.
But kindness toward yourself also creates ripples.
When you speak to yourself as you would to your best friend, your children see what true kind hearts look like. When you sit down to read a book with your kids instead of frantically scrubbing baseboards, you’re teaching them that people are more important than perfection. When you choose rest, you allow your family to see what it looks like to spend time together and let the Holy Spirit refill your weary soul.
Kindness Looks Different in Every Season
Kindness will look different in every home and season. This week, kindness was sticking to my ‘to-do’ list and committing to only doing what was on the list. It was sitting on the porch with my older kids, watching the storm clouds roll in instead of folding laundry. It was whispering Dear Lord, help me be gentle with myself when I felt overwhelmed.
For you, kindness might look like:
- Saying “no” to an extra commitment at your local church to protect your family margin.
- Letting your kids help make the mess while baking cookies, even if it slows you down.
- Pausing to thank God for your body, even if it feels tired and stretched from motherhood.
These are not “lesser” forms of kindness, mama. They are different ways the fruit of kindness blooms in a mother’s heart.
God’s Kindness First
We can only pour out true kindness to others when we have first received God’s kindness toward us. At the end of the day, it comes down to this:
We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19 ESV
We are kind because He was first kind to us.
We forgive ourselves because Christ Jesus forgives us.
We show grace to others because He has showered us with grace.
Let Kindness Transform Your To-Do List
What if we practiced kindness even with our to-do lists? Instead of measuring our worth by how many good things we get done, we could measure our days by:
- Did I reflect the kindness of God today?
- Did I speak a kind word to myself?
- Did I let my light shine through a gentle spirit?
- Did I allow the Holy Spirit to guide me in compassionate hearts toward others and myself?
Let kindness be small, ordinary, daily, and deeply rooted in the love of God.
A Prayer for Today
Dear Lord, help me to remember that kindness is not just something I give to others but something I allow myself to receive from You and extend to myself. Help me, O Lord, to live in Your kindness, letting it flow out of me to make this world a better place in Jesus’ name. Give me a tender heart, compassionate toward the needs of others and gentle toward myself. Help me reflect the fruit of kindness in my daily life, in the big and small moments, for Your glory. Amen.
Mama, kindness isn’t basic. It’s radical. It changes our homes, our hearts, and the world around us, one small moment at a time.
May you walk in the kindness of God today, letting His love soften your heart toward others and yourself.
Don’t Forget to Pin for Later!
