I Get It. Things Are Tough. But Don’t Miss The Good!

I get it.

The economy is tough. Groceries cost more than they should. Housing is expensive. Gas is crazy. Small businesses are watching every dollar, and a lot of families are doing the same thing. People who have worked hard their whole lives are wondering why their money doesn’t stretch as far as it used to. Like you, I still buy groceries, gas, and pay for housing.

Turn on the news and, before you know it, you’re wondering if the whole world has lost its mind.

Everybody seems angry about something. Politics divides families and friends. Social media gives people a place to say things they would probably never say if they were sitting across the kitchen table from one another.

Fear sells. Anger gets clicks. Bad news gets our attention.

I get it.

I’m 71 years old. I’ve lived through enough ups and downs to know that there are legitimate reasons to be concerned about the world around us. I’m not suggesting we stick our heads in the sand and pretend everything is wonderful.

But I am suggesting something else.

Look around

Not at Washington. Not at the television. Not at whatever is trending on your phone.

Look around your own community.

You might see a neighbor shoveling another neighbor’s driveway or mowing their lawn because they know they’re getting older and can’t do it themselves anymore.

You might see a local business donating a gift certificate to help a family going through a difficult time. Or partnering with a nonprofit.

There are firefighters, police officers, EMTs, nurses, teachers, pastors, volunteers, and ordinary folks quietly helping people every single day.

There are people bringing meals to someone who is sick.

• Churches are filling food pantries.
• Parents are coaching Little League, soccer, and football.
• Someone is paying for the coffee of the person behind them. Or purchasing groceries for the senior in front of them
• A mechanic is helping somebody who can’t quite afford the entire repair. A contractor is fixing steps or securing a door for a single mom.
• A business owner is giving a young person their first job and teaching them that showing up on time and keeping your word still matter.

None of those things will probably make the six o’clock news.

But maybe they should.

After 71 years on this earth, I’ve become convinced that most of the really important things in life don’t happen on a television screen. They happen around kitchen tables, in church basements, at Little League fields, inside small businesses and between neighbors.

I have been around long enough to know bad things happen.  Even to good people.

Darkness gets a lot of attention, but light is still light.

While I am a businessman (Husband, father, and grandfather), I have also been a minister long enough to believe something else, too.

That we need not be overcome by trouble and evil, but to overcome these things with good. I think there is more of that happening than we realize.

I’ve seen people disagree politically and still help one another.

I’ve watched communities rally around families experiencing tragedy.

I’ve seen people give when they didn’t have much themselves.

I’ve seen second chances given, friendships restored, strangers become friends and people quietly do the right thing simply because it was the right thing to do.

That gives me hope.

Maybe we can’t fix the economy tomorrow.

Maybe we can’t change everything happening in the world.

But we can do something.

We can encourage somebody.

We can support a local business.

We can check on a neighbor.

We can volunteer.

We can forgive somebody.

We can put down the phone and actually talk to each other.

We can tell the good stories.

And perhaps most importantly, we can become one of them.

So yes, I get it. Things are tough.

But don’t let people who profit from your fear convince you that everything is bad.

Turn off the noise for a little while and take a ride through your own community.

Look carefully.

There is still kindness here.
There is still generosity here.
There is still faith here.
There are still good people doing good things.

And this 71-year-old still believes the best is ahead of us.

Maybe I’m an optimist. Maybe naive. Maybe a Utopian.

I’m okay with that.

I’d rather spend whatever years God gives me looking for the light than complaining about the darkness, seeing the good and believing the best.

And when I find that light, that goodness, I intend to tell somebody about it.

I have done this for a very long time. I have no intention of stopping. Good things are happening where I live. I know they happen everywhere.

If you have good things going on where you live, send them to me. Be an ambassador for the good. Know a business making a difference? Tell somebody.

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

John Lennon