Souls Generated By Love

In the last week I have witnessed two outstanding acts of goodness.

The first one happened a last week. I was walking around the Crossroads (BYUI eatery) surveying people. My partner and I came upon two trendy looking guys who were taking pictures of a really messy table (to-go boxes full of trash, napkins, etc.) and ton of fliers all over the floor. At first I thought they had made the mess and were taking pictures because they thought they were funny.

Then as we talked with them we realized they hadn't made the mess but their friends had. They were documenting so they could hassle them about it later. "You know when you see messes like this and you wonder, 'what kind of person would make such a mess and then leaves it?' " one of the guys tells me, "Well apparently my friends do." He was kind of laughing it off, but you could tell was sad that his friends would do such a thing.

Then he stacked up the trash and threw it away. He and his friend got down on their hands and knees and picked up every last flier. And they were happy to do it. They weren't please with their friends for leaving the mess, but they were happy they were there to clean it up.

Isn't that amazing? As I walked away from these fine gentlemen, I couldn't help but think of all the goodness they would spread in their lives. And all of the goodness they'd already spread.


The second story happened about five minutes ago. I work in the bookstore of the Madison Library District. As I was sitting at my desk I noticed a group of teenagers sort of kneeling on the ground around someone. I got up to make sure they didn't need me, as I did one of the guys started pulling his friend to his feet. He had his arms under the other guy's armpits. I had seen this crowd before and knew that the young man being pulled to his feet uses crutches (I would guess he has spina bifida).

His friend continued to hold him up as they started to make their way to the entrance, one of the girls carrying the crutches. Then his legs faltered and gave way. Both of the boys lowered a bit, but neither fell. The boy being held up said with a little frustration, "Sometimes this body...!" His friend, as he is helping him back up, replies, "You are fine man."

We hear those words all the time. I wish you could have heard the way this young man said them. He was not annoyed or embarrassed at all. He was helping his friend when he truly need it. And it was fine. Because that's what friends do.



I cannot explain how good my heart felt when I witnessed these things. We hear a lot about the bad in the world, but don't ever overlook the good. It is all around you.

Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.  

                                               Martin Luther King, Jr.