I regularly hear from a very few in my acquaintance that "people are out to get you," "people are evil," "when you think others are nice, they are just using you," etc. etc. blah blah blah.

Not only is the above blatantly untrue, it says more about the speaker than about those around them. In our house we see the vast vast majority of folks as kind, thoughtful, willing to help, etc. I'm constantly pleased with those I meet whether it's at the grocery, on a hiking trail, or about town. Kind words are spoken, helpful actions are taken, good wishes are received. A few days ago we once again were recipients of "the kindness of strangers," in a specific way.

Our son D has infrequent but regular seizures. By the grace of God he's almost always seated when they happen, which usually protects him from injury. Well, the other day he was walking around the neighborhood while C and I were at the local park with some grandchildren. My phone rang but I didn't recognize the number, so ignored it, plus I was involved w/ the grandies. 30 seconds later it went off again, same number. Mmmm. Then a third time so ok, better answer. It was my next door neighbor L (we usually communicate via email, so I didn't recognize her number).

L quickly spilled that D had fallen in the road, he was injured, ambulance was pulling up. I called to C and we hopped on our bikes and in 3 minutes we were at the scene. By then D was seated on the curb with neighbors and paramedics tending to him. Head injuries bleed a lot and his face was total blood, and there was actually a not-small pool of blood left in the road. D was somewhat coherent so we decided I would drive him to the ER to get checked out, rather than use transport. It looked like stitches were in order, and we needed to make sure there was no head or brain injury. Best I could tell he had a seizure and slammed down face first onto the asphalt.

No one saw the accident. Our neighbor P just happened to look out the window and saw D lying in the road. He ran out and though not all the details are known to me, he got D over to the curb, called 911, stayed w/ him. His wife M ran to our house to get us and actually came inside calling for us but we were at the park. Meanwhile neighbors K across the street and L next door came out to help. When I left the scene to fetch my car, P walked my bike into my garage, and then got some water from his house for D and me. 

D spent 4 hours in the ER being checked out, cleaned up, tended to in every way. He did not need stitches because the main wound was a smash wound, not a laceration. No concussion. PTL.

The next day I went over to thank P and M. A few hours later, P showed up at our door with a bag of pop cans for D to return. Cans here redeem for 10 cents each, and D goes out most mornings to collect them from patrons, and from recycle bins. He was bummed he could not go out to collect the day after his accident. But P sensed that Daniel would be disappointed, and so he donated his collection of cans to him. Yeah. 

People are good, they care, they want to help, they want the best for their neighborhoods and communities. I recognize there are exceptions but refuse to dwell on the negative. Being positive is what God expects of us, and it's what makes us happier, makes us better citizens, and focusing on the positive helps us be "that person" who helps others in times of need.