By DANNY MINTON

Browsing through some old files, I discovered a business card from almost sixty years ago. The name on the card was familiar, but what caught my eye was when and where I received the card. I never saw the man who gave it to me (he gave it to my parents), and he never saw me. It would be almost two years before we would meet. 

December 11, 1965, is one of those dates that have a firm place in my mind. Plano was playing in the semi-final class AA playoffs in Wichita Falls when I received a severe neck injury in the first quarter while tackling a player from Iowa Park. My mind has stored snapshots of people and events that occurred from that point and weeks and months to come. I won’t share my story of the injury again, but the story around the story. I shared the event in my post from August 2019 entitled In the Twinkling of an Eye. However, the snapshots I have stored were brought back to life by the business card I found.

From the time I arrived at the hospital, the kindness of people began to take hold of my journey to recover. When it was discovered that I had broken my neck, the hospital staff went into action to bring in a unique bed that night that would fulfill my particular needs in the days to come. As I was wheeled down the hallway, I heard nurses expressing concerns about my condition with each other. After the game, one of the first people to come by was our coach, who left his number for my folks to call. Two ladies from a local church brought a couple of books for me to read. The next day, people made the 140-mile, two-and-a-half-hour trip to check on how I was doing. The Dallas and Wichita Falls newspapers posted info on the injury, and people all over the area were praying.

Danny Minton surrounded by friends and family in December 1965 after a football injury.

I received scores of cards and letters, many of which I still possess. A few envelopes are filled with letters from elementary school children that had prepared them in class. Plano was a small community with everyone caring for each other. When I transferred to Dallas, classmates often visited to see and check up on me. Kathy (my wife-to-be) brought me a Christmas tree, which would end up being our first one when we married two and a half years later. My classmates took up a collection to buy me an electric razor but received so many donations they bought me a portable TV instead. My Spanish teacher came to the hospital to help me not get behind in my work. Borden’s, my dad’s employer, paid for some of the extras in the hospital room. The boy I tackled apologized for causing my injury. The player who was supposed to block me apologized for missing his assignment. The Iowa Park team and coaches sent me a book with their kind thoughts and names inside. Doctors, nurses, church members, classmates, teachers, and people I didn’t know and would never know showed enormous compassion and kindness over the six months it took me to recover completely.

The 1965 Plano Wildcats were a true team of guys who cared for each other. The following week, the coach let my brother dress in my uniform so my number would be at the state playoff game. The team won the championship and presented me with the game ball from the state championship in the ultimate act of kindness. Today, it sits in a glass case in my office. 

The kindness of people is one attribute that always remains with us throughout the years. Think back on your life; I know you will remember times when someone was kind to you. You may not remember their name, but their actions are imprinted in your memories. When someone treats us with kindness, our minds store a mental image of that person and the deed they did for us. 

I once heard the saying, “Be kind to people on your way up. You’ll meet the same people on your way down.” Kindness to others reaps kindness in return. Part of the fruit of the Spirit that lives within us is constantly being kind to people in all circumstances. Jesus expressed this in what we call “The Golden Rule.”  “So, in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”  Matthew 7:12 (NIV2011) 

It costs us nothing to be kind, but expressing kindness to others is priceless in their lives, not only today but in days and years to come. In the movie “A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood,” a cynical journalist, Lloyd, quizzes Mister Rogers about his relationship with his sons, hoping to stir his emotions. Mister Rogers sits attentively, listening to the journalist’s questions. Mister Rogers then calmly tells Lloyd about his relationship with his sons. Lloyd is disappointed that Mister Rogers answers kindly and is more interested in Lloyd’s life than sharing his own. Eventually, the kindness of Mister Rogers plays a role in changing not only Lloyd’s life but those around him.

We may never know how far our kindness to others will affect someone or when it will come to fulfillment. The business card I received in Wichita Falls was from the local Church of Christ preacher, Jimmy Jividen. Two years later, he became one of my mentors as I prepared for the ministry. He was the preacher for the church I attended in Abilene. We had never seen each other and never talked about that night in Wichita Falls in 1965. In fact, it wasn’t until I found his card a few days ago that I realized he was one of the ones who came to see me. Almost sixty years later, I remember the kindness of scores of people from 1965. Kindness is never forgotten.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  Ephesians 4:31-32 (NIV2011)

Danny Minton is a former Elder and minister at Southern Hills Church of Christ