Healing Starts with Kindness

Preparing sandwiches for shelters in Massachusetts

A famous American psychiatrist, Karl Menninger, was once asked what he would tell a person who felt like they were on the edge of a breakdown. People expected him to say, “Go find a doctor. Take care of yourself. Take this or that medication.” But his answer was surprising: “Lock up your house, cross the tracks, find someone in need, and help that person.”

Modern science has proven that when we help people, and they thank us, our bodies respond. Stress decreases. Inflammation goes down. Our immune system gets stronger. We sleep better. Our relationships deepen. Even our motivation increases.

When you feel darkness closing in, the best thing you can do is to bring someone else light. And that’s what Jesus meant when He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Because when you help someone, when you encourage them, when you’re the answer to their prayer, you’re not just blessing them—you’re activating something inside yourself.

Friends, when you are weighed down with worries, instead of staying stuck, pick up the phone and encourage a friend. Drop by and check on that neighbor. Volunteer somewhere. Send a meal, a note, a prayer. When you pour out love, hope, and kindness, your soul gets refilled. Your perspective changes. That cloud begins to lift.

Here’s the key: discouragement feeds on isolation, but joy grows in connection. The enemy wants you trapped in your own thoughts—alone with your fears, convinced that no one understands.

But the moment you step out and serve, you break that prison of self-focus. You turn your eyes from your own pain toward the needs of others. And in doing so, you invite God’s light back into your heart.

Joy is not something we chase; it’s something we share. When you give joy, you receive joy. God wired your heart to heal as you give. You were created to make a difference. And when you do, peace comes running, joy finds you, and strength rises again.

So, friends, if you’ve been fighting sadness or weariness, don’t wait to feel better first. Start now. Lift someone, and watch God lift you. Encourage someone, and watch fresh encouragement flow back to you. The light you bring to another’s life may be the very light that saves your own.