A man sat in an airport, waiting for his flight, and reading the news on his phone. He shook his head, frowning, as he scrolled through story after story about all the trouble in the world. If he had glanced up, he would have seen an exhausted mother of two on the bench across from him, trying to quiet her crying baby. The baby’s three-year-old brother, who had been playing with a toy car, gently rested his car on the baby’s lap. “Here,” he said.
“Play with this. It’s fun!” That kind of generosity and love won’t show up on a newsfeed, but it happens, and it can brighten anyone’s outlook.
Last Halloween a young child was trick-or-treating. When one giver showed him an empty bowl and said, “Sorry, I’m all out of candy,” the little boy reached into his own bag and pulled out a candy for the adult. That kind of bigheartedness should help all of us feel confident that the future is in good hands.
If we look, we can see kindness all around us. A California family in need was surprised with new kitchen and laundry appliances from the local Boys and Girls Clubs. A high school in Colorado made a yearbook in braille for a visually impaired classmate.
Shortly after a young married couple moved into their new home in Massachusetts, they had a baby who was born deaf. When their new neighbors found out, they were sorry that they wouldn’t be able to communicate with the little girl as she grew up. So, they hired someone to teach them American Sign Language, and before long, 40 neighbors were attending the class. The girl is now three years old. Not surprisingly, the first word she signed to them was friend.
All over the world people are combining compassion with creativity to build bonds. If we’re ever tempted to think society is pulling apart, that more and more people are sowing discord, perhaps we can look away from the noise for a moment. What we’re likely to see is a quiet groundswell of love and friendship happening all around us. We may even feel inspired to join such efforts, adding our own offering of peace and compassion wherever we are, however we can.
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February 21, 2021
Broadcast Number 4,771
The Tabernacle Choir
Orchestra at Temple Square
Conductors
Mack Wilberg
Ryan Murphy
Organist
Brian Mathias
Host
Lloyd Newell
My God Is So High
African American spiritual; arr. Ryan Murphy
Look at the World
John Rutter
Largo in G
George Frideric Handel; arr. Brian Mathias
Gloria, from Mass in D, op. 86
Antonin Dvořák
My Favorite Things, from The Sound of Music
Richard Rodgers; arr. Arthur Harris
There Is a Balm in Gilead
African American spiritual; arr. Mack Wilberg
Hymn of Praise
Mack Wilberg