By Alicia Thompson 
On my birthday, my sweet Maw Maw would sometimes cook a Crock-Pot full of my favorite soup beans. They were the best, and my favorite meal as a kid. I always felt so special and loved when she cooked those beans just for me.
She didn’t have much; she barely scraped by with just the groceries she really needed. What she did have, she would have given to anybody who asked, without hesitation. And she always seemed to just love everybody first before she judged if they were worthy of that love. It didn’t matter what someone had done in their past—she welcomed and loved them just the same.
I recently cooked my three little girls a pot of those same soup beans for the first time, just the way Maw Maw did. Of course, they weren’t as good as Maw Maw’s, but they were still delicious. One of the girls asked why I loved this meal so much. I told them how Maw Maw didn’t have much, but she would buy an inexpensive bag of dry beans and soak them all night and cook them all day, just for me. I told them how special it made me feel, just a Crock-Pot of beans. Then I told them about how Jesus wants us to love others and treat others with kindness, in any way we can.
One thing I’ve learned is that it doesn’t take money to show others we love them. It just takes time and love. Our sweet Maw Maw went to be with the Lord a few years ago. I thank the Lord for the time we had with her, and I just hope all of us can keep a little bit of her and her kindness with us always. She shined her light for Jesus brighter than anybody I’ve ever known, and I will always and forever be grateful for that.
Try to shine your light today. Even if it isn’t the brightest, somebody will see it. It could mean lending a listening ear to someone who may need it, cooking a meal for someone, or taking the time to make a whole pot of soup beans. You never know how it could change somebody’s life or the lives of others around them.
I didn’t think I would ever have connected a pot of beans with spreading the love and message of Jesus. But when I look back on those birthdays growing up, I know Maw Maw was shining that light just for me, to help show me how to love others and find my way to Jesus. And in turn, showing me how I could one day shine my own light and help others find their way to Him too.
I hope that conversation my three girls and I had at the kitchen table will stick with them as they grow older. And I hope whoever is reading this, that this message will stick with you too. I’ve learned that showing a little bit of kindness, even a quick smile to a stranger as you pass by, really does go a long way.
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16 KJV)
by Elizabeth Dardes 
