I have some of the best opportunities in the whole world to see goodness, today, and everyday.   I  have some of the kindest people I know  surrounding me on the regular.  Reading this, you are probably thinking that it is more than likely that I am biased  (and I probably am because I chose them as my friends) but I really am prepared to stand by this assertion no matter who asks me.  Those that I love are incredibly generous and kind.  They are funny and thoughtful.  They give not only of their resources, but of their time and talents.  They do things because they can and never for the notice or kudos that might result for their action.

Some months ago, a group of my friends stepped in during a crisis and provided clean drinking water to a huge part of the country that had been ripped open by weather’s power.  People were suddenly thrown into a life and lifestyle they never thought they’d live ( you know the mentality  — don’t the  crazy things always happen to other people).  Over and over in recent years we, as a country, have been given the opportunity to pull together in times of crisis.

The other day, I was reflecting on  the qualities that I admire most  and I was reminded of this incredible act of hidden service to that community.  Suddenly, I thought, “That water had far greater effect than they even knew.”  I imagined what it must have been like to be a family that became a recipient  of that clean water.  Perhaps they had waited an evening,  day, a week. Perhaps it became a bath.  The base for a healthy meal or baby formula.

Beyond what it actually was though (water) , it struck me how it was so much more than plastic jugs and fluid. if you look at it —  it is a great occasion for hope.  It was a  moment to see that when darkness seems to have taken over, there is Light.   If you close your eyes and listen there is a small kind voice that will lead you forward… you just have to be willing to hear it.

In a moment where the news seems to be populated by the wickedness of Man daily, that does not have to be so.   There is just as much good, though it gets far less publicity.   We have the power as a people to continue goodness and love’s successful take over of people’s hearts.

Maybe you can’t bring water to those in need, but you can bring a smile to a neighbor or a compliment to a co-worker.  You can listen to that older relative’s winding-long-winded story one more time, change a tire for a stranger or sit and help your child do homework so that they know that they are loved.  It takes one match to start a fire, so let’s band together, become a metaphorical book of matches and light fires of goodness all over the world…no matter how big or small your world is.