Good news is out there
Good people too
I don’t know why, but as I expressed in a message at my church recently, this year more than any other I remember, I have been kind of overwhelmed by the number of people who are struggling through difficult or even traumatic situations this Christmas season. Obviously with the holidays being a time typically reserved for family, those who have lost loved ones, those who have suffered through an unwanted divorce, those who are distant from their families either physically or emotionally – that pain is exacerbated this time of year.
It’s a delicate balance, I’ve found, in knowing how to deal with that reality. On the one hand, talking about all the happiness and joy of this time of year can make those who don’t feel it take on an extra burden of sadness. I don’t want that.
On the other hand, constantly talking about how sad and difficult this time of year is for people can really suck the joy and meaning out of Christmas for everyone. I don’t want that either.
Reminding the blessed to think of the less fortunate is not a bad thing, of course. Nor is reminding the unfortunate to think of the blessing that is Christmas. It’s just a delicate balance that I’m not sure I’ve completely found the hang of quite yet.
In light of that, I thought maybe the best thing to do for this Memo before Christmas would be to share a couple good news stories that have happened recently that, because our media is the way that it is, you likely haven’t heard about. Who wants to talk about good things people do when there’s Omicron fears, political division, and racial tension to stir up? I’m not sure if I’ve ever told you, but I’m not a big fan of the entire media complex.
Regardless, check this out:
Not all heroes wear capes. Some are children with good hearts that happen to be in the right place at the right time. Earlier this month, a sixth-grader from Oklahoma, Davyon Johnson performed the Heimlich maneuver on a classmate. Then, that same day, Davyon rescued an elderly woman from a burning house.
According to the story, another kid at Davyon’s school was unscrewing the cap of his water bottle with his mouth when he accidentally sucked it down. The kid stumbled backward, choking, and 11-year-old Davyon didn’t turn and watch, didn’t grab his cell phone to film it, didn’t yell for a teacher. Instead, he rushed over and performed the Heimlich maneuver successfully.
Later that day while he was walking home from school, he saw an elderly woman with her walker trying to escape a house fire. Knowing “she was not moving fast enough,” Davyon ran over and helped her out away from the burning home. All in a day’s work.
Two significant points about this story you should note. First, the internet isn’t all bad. Davyon learned the Heimlich maneuver watching a YouTube video. Second, this all took place in the town of my birth: Enid, Oklahoma. Heroes live there, you see. They are my people.
Ok, move on from there to New York of all places. Yes, good things happen there too. When 60-year-old John Burley was hospitalized with an illness that would require a long period of rehabilitation, with no family to help, he had no choice but to turn his beloved dog Boomer to the Humane Society. The separation was almost as bad as the illness.
So what did one of the workers at the hospital, RN Jennifer Smith, do?
“She went right to the Rome Humane Society that day and paid the adoption fee, took him to the vet, and went on a shopping spree for food, crate, toys, and doggy clothes.”
When John was moved to his rehab center, Nurse Smith arrived with a special gift:
You can’t beat that.
And how about one more? CBS Sports has this one right – good or bad, this will be a moment far more memorable than anything that happened in the classroom this day. When hot chocolate is on the line, nothing else matters but winning.
Do I have some questions? Sure. Questions like:
“Why is that one kid wearing a full bear outfit to school?”
“What’s the backstory on the two girls to the right of the screen at the beginning, where one is laying on the ground pawing at the ankles of the other?”
“Why is the dark haired girl in the red and white pajamas at the end of the video standing there so sullen – did she have money on a miss?”
But ultimately those are questions for another day. This is a day to celebrate Ms. Fitz calling game from way downtown.
The truth is that there are a hundred stories like this every hour, but they just don’t get the publicity. God’s goodness to us abounds in the smallest details of life, in the moments we take for granted, in the seemingly mundane and forgettable.
And truthfully that’s one of the lessons of this time of year. How the most abundant and unimaginable example of God’s goodness came in the unlikeliest of packages, in the most unexpected way, in a forgettable town, through ordinary, mundane people.
No matter your circumstance or lot in life, that gift changes everything. Merry Christmas, friends.
P.S. I will be out of town starting after church on Sunday, and be back towards the middle of the week. So, no Memo on Monday, but I’ll have an end-of-year one for Friday, so be ready!