Some days feel like a gut punch. This was one of those days. It seemed as if bad news was lurking around every corner, and I shuddered at the thought of answering the phone. The week had been one of loss—six dear friends, and one who had battled the same cancer as Mom. She had helped me deliver care packages to chemo patients, never complaining or wavering, always encouraging and blessing others. She had the same spirit as Mom’s “Let’s put our party hats on and do this.” I missed her, and I was grieving. I walked out of an appointment with a heavy heart and breathed a prayer. There were no words to express how dark things felt. “Lord, please just help.” A simple prayer, but sometimes those are the prayers that reach God’s heart deeper than the wordy, eloquent ones. I said my “amen” and then noticed an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair. He was being taken to his appointment and behind him, a mother and her young daughter were walking hand in hand. The little girl was carrying a stuffed bear in one arm, and I walked behind them for a short distance before the girl let go of her mother’s hand and ran to the elderly man. She reached out to give him the stuffed bear, then hurried back with a wide smile and grabbed mother’s hand again. The man went into his appointment with that bear wrapped in his arms and a tear in his eye.
I caught up with the woman and learned that she had recently lost her father to COVID. The little girl had adored her grandpa and felt the loss deeply. He was her best friend, 
and the man in the wheelchair reminded the little girl of him. Still clutching her mother’s hand, she looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said, “He will be okay now. He’s got bear.”
and the man in the wheelchair reminded the little girl of him. Still clutching her mother’s hand, she looked up at me with her big blue eyes and said, “He will be okay now. He’s got bear.”I walked to my car with tears blurring my eyes. This beautiful display of kindness touched my soul, an answer to my not-so-eloquent prayer. In the simple act of a child, God had given me a picture of all that was good in the world. I decided from that moment forward I would look around to see it. I wanted to notice goodness and allow it to keep changing my perspective. Yes, there is bad in the world, but I don’t have to make that my focus. All those little, positive moments are big things. As I looked around with my heart and eyes, it was amazing what I noticed:
My friend spending the afternoon with someone who was suffering through Alzheimer’s.
Volunteers packing hundreds of bags that were going to bless cancer patients.
Sweet 97-year-old Anna working on her prayer quilt, and the other angels beside her who give tirelessly as they create quilted blessings for others.
My neighbor mowing the grass for a lady who lost her husband.
I sat on my porch swing and looked at the blue sky and listened to the traffic behind us (which we usually complain about) feeling thankful for breath, my dogs, and another day. I decided the traffic sounds didn’t matter anymore. That little girl had changed my perspective. No matter how many trials we endure or how dark the world seems, there is always good to be found. Genuine people are all around us, giving, serving, and blessing. Most of the time, like the little girl, they are doing their good behind the scenes, but they are making a big difference. The world is a better place because of them.The heaviness lifted and I embraced the quiet. Focusing on the good in the world chipped away at the insignificant, and what emerged were those small things that add up to so much good. I allowed myself to sink back into the shelter of the Most High and feel safe in the shadow of the Almighty (Psalm 91).
Are you weary, tired, burdened, or fearful? Are you faltering under those gut punches the world delivers? Take some time to look around and change your perspective. Good moments are happening all around you, and God wants you to notice them. I pray we can all be like this little girl. During her pain, she reached out in kindness to someone who was right in front of her. She changed his perspective, and she changed mine. It was a small act, but it had a huge impact. Love is like that. It finds us on a day that seems small and dark, then opens us to the wide paths of light. Let’s walk in that light and look for the arms that are reaching out to share good in the world.