Simple Goodness

Yesterday I wrote about "seven years of Divine Providence."  What I did not say then was that this providence all came about through the simple goodness of so many people: people who housed and fed us, who provided clothes for us, even people who donated furniture to us after the storm. 

Yesterday, it all came back to me again through the simple goodness of some of our neighbors.  While we, like so many others, were without power for a couple of days, Isaac was nowhere near the storm of Katrina.  Still, after two days of no hot coffee, no hot food, and no air conditioning, one tends to get a little out of sorts.  I happened to mention to one of our neighbors that I'd give anything for a cup of coffee.  About half an hour later, she and her husband and her mother arrived on our doorstep, all bearing gifts.

The husband brought a small barbeque grill with some charcoal so we could cook; the wife brought us some hot egg sandwiches, and her mother brought us a whole pot of hot, hot coffee.  No meal in a fancy restaurant could ever equal the pleasure we had with that hot coffee and hot egg sandwich.  We felt fortified for whatever came next.  Instead of lying on the sofa with a headache, I felt energized to begin picking up and cleaning up the debris left by the storm.

The simple goodness of so many people got us through Katrina; the simple goodness of our neighbors revived us yesterday when our spirits were flagging.  We never realize how dependent we are on hot meals until we have none, even for a short period of time.

Being on the receiving end of so much simple goodness makes me want to help others.  I don't know how to help the homeless, or the very poor, or the child who is being abused.  All I can do is look around me and watch for someone who needs what I can give at the moment.  But no one ever knows how important simple goodness in a moment of real need.