"It's better to be kind..."

Dear Maker, 

I've worked very hard to teach the school kids this lesson. "It's better to be KIND than to be RIGHT!" I've reminded my own kids, and tried to instill in them the importance of this message.  

You teach me again and again how much of a difference being kind makes, but if I only read the bit about being kind, I'm missing a good portion of the lesson.  

I'm totally ignoring the part about not being right.

I struggle with this part. I like to think I'm right. I like to think I'm smart and good and kind and humble. I like to think I have a clue, and have some bit of wisdom to share with the world.  

I'm not.  I don't.  I'm just a lump of clay, fashioned into a human fetus within my mother's womb.  I am a piece of my Mother and a piece of my Father, mixed up together with your Love that became a human being. Without the breath of your Spirit, I am nothing.  You've given that breath, and give it anew every morning. Your love, your Spirit is the only thing that gives me value.  It is the only thing I can take pride in.  None of who I am or what I am is of my own doing.      

You have allowed things to happen to me, and stayed with me while they happened.  You have shaped me and formed me with the things I've seen and the people I've encountered. You've loved me and fashioned me into this person I am today. THAT I can take pride in.  THAT I know I am right about.  

Forgive me for the times I think myself more than I am. Please grant me your love, and bless me with a special heart to listen.  Not a perfect heart. Not a proud heart.  Please give me a heart strong enough to share your love, and simple enough to remember what's really important.   

Love, 

Me