By Danny Minton

Franz Kafka was an author who lived and wrote as the twentieth century began. His primary works centered around social injustice and alienation. His most popular are “Metamorphosis,” “The Trial,” and “The Castle.” Toward the end of his life, an event happened that changed a little girl’s life.

In 1923, Franz and his companion, Dora Diamant, were walking through a park in Berlin when they came across a little girl crying because she had lost her doll. In trying to console the little girl, he told her that the doll was not lost but was traveling. Franz told her he knew this because the doll had sent him a letter. The little girl, being skeptical, asked to see the letter, so Franz told her he would bring it the next day.

Franz went home and composed a letter a child could understand. The doll told how even though she loved the little girl, she was ready to travel and see other people and places. However, she promised that someday she would return. Dora told others that Franz spent as much time crafting the letter for the little girl as his other writings.

For several weeks, Franz would bring a letter from the doll to the little girl. The doll would tell of her travels and even how she met someone, got engaged, and married. She wrote of the house they bought, all the places she had traveled to, and how they prevented her from coming home sooner.

Finally, Franz brought back a doll to the little girl. “It doesn’t look like my doll at all,” said the little girl. Franz handed her a letter in which the doll wrote how “my travels have changed me.” The little girl hugged the doll and happily took her home.

If we open our eyes as we walk through life, we will find many people like the little girl in the park. Life is not going the way they want, and they become sad and depressed. They become so engrossed in what is wrong in their life that they often can’t find a way to move forward. If we “stop, look, and listen” to the people around us, we’ll see that many live with invisible tears and need someone to care for them.

When Franz Kafka walked through the park that day, he could have turned away, looked at Dora, and simply said, “I wonder what’s upset that little girl.” Instead, he saw someone in pain and spent time consoling her, taking it so far as to bring the little girl happiness for days to come. 

Kindness to someone who is hurting is one of the least expensive things we can do for them, yet the acts of kindness are invaluable to those who receive the gift. Take the time to stop and be there for those who need lifting up. 

Franz died the year following his helping the little girl. Another part of the story that cannot be substantiated involves a note that the little girl found inside the doll after Franz’s death. According to legend the note said, “Everything you love will probably be lost, but in the end, love will return in another way.”

As Jesus tells us, “¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  John 15:13 (NIV2011) Sometimes giving our lives is not to die for them, but to live for them. Reach out and touch someone with kindness, embracing the love when someone reaches out to you when you are down.

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