Goodness All Around Us

One winter evening while my husband and I were serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hungary, an elderly woman was standing in the square near a subway station in Budapest.  She was clutching flowers in her cold hands, hoping to sell them to passersby.  Most people rushed past her, anxious to get out of the frigid air and into their warm homes after a long day at work.  One man, however, noticed her standing there and stopped and asked, “How much for all of them?”

That experience has stayed with me through the years as I have wondered how many in need I have passed by in my rush to get somewhere.  It is often much easier to participate in organized, large-scale service projects than it is to discern what service one person might need.  Clearly, the man in Budapest did not need all of the flowers, but he could see that the woman DID need to get out of the cold, and he was willing to help.

As we celebrate this Christmas season, what better way to honor our Savior’s birth than to follow His example by reaching out to the one.  “. . . Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt. 25:40)

While our world is filled with evil, suffering, and sorrow, yet there is still much goodness all around us.  Like the man in the square in Budapest, may we be a part of that goodness, not just during this Christmas season, but each season of the year.

Marilyn Baughman (pictured with husband and grandchildren) resides in Southlake, Texas, and serves as the Colleyville Stake Primary President.