one of a kind

one thing that sticks out to me
about him
is his overwhelming sense of kindness.
he is always and only ever kind.
to me. 
to everyone.
we pull up in the drive through at taco bell,
and he finds out her name
and asks how she is today,
genuinely caring.
he is purposeful in looking everyone in the eye,
seeing them as a person with a heart,
and not just an invisible face.
he is just so friendly and nice to
everyone he meets,
and it is of no secret benefit or
manipulation of
himself.
he doesn't gain anything.
no one even sees him do it half the time,
except maybe the one receiving his kindness,
and i really love that about him.
in the quiet and in the privacy of our home,
he is kind. he is soft.
he is tired and overworked
and still he is kind.
he is often met with wild mood swings
and short tempers found in both 
his wife and children,
and he has soft answers for all of us.
we demand so much, 
complain about time we think we are 
entitled to, 
we want his time, 
as if it belongs to us only, 
we all throw out rash and unthinking words, 
and they often meet their target 
like an arrow making its mark, 
and though blood might be drawn, 
he does not respond in rage or 
pick up his own weapons, 
but quietly and calmly, 
pulls out the arrows, 
cleans up the messes we've made,
and humbles us with his 
quiet and gentle spirit. 
we don't deserve him.
that's just the honest truth. 
he is the most like Christ 
more than any other person i know 
here on earth. 
God is full of loving kindness, 
one of the richest qualities that i cling to 
in Him, 
knowing He is tender, 
forgiving, 
merciful. 
that He is abounding in love. 
and here is, nathan. 
a mere man, 
made of  flesh, bone, and dust,
and he is able to love with that 
Christ love 
that I've only seen in the Eternal. 
may i learn from his example. 
to love unconditionally, 
to choose kindness and compassion 
over defensiveness, 
self protection, and 
skepticism. 
i often like to sit in my fleshy feelings, 
wollowing in self pity, 
in thinking i am secretly right, 
or that i deserve more than what i'm getting 
in that moment. 
that's the ugly truth about me.
but here is daily reminder, 
a soft remainder, 
that i don't have to be like that. 
i may be darkness, 
but he is lightness, 
reflecting The Light of the world, 
a beacon of God's loving kindness
and i want less of my flesh, 
and more of the Spirit of God. 
so thank you, natey.
for wearing a robe of kindness and humility 
and never taking it off. 
it has yet to be dirtied
no matter how long you have worn it.