Kindness and the Helpers

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping.’”

~Mister Rogers

I thought of Mr. Rogers’ saying about the helpers again today, but I didn’t have to look for the helpers – they were all around me.  During a church service this morning, one of the ushers collapsed in the back of church.  A doctor ran to the usher’s side.  The woman next to me yelled for a friend to call 911.  The woman behind me told me to pray and grabbed my hand – or maybe I grabbed hers.  Joined by a couple of others, the gentleman who called 911 ran to the street to signal the ambulance.  The priest asked us to continue praying – as that was the best thing we could do.  The band continued to lead us in song.  And when the usher, a veteran and beloved member of the church and of the community, was taken out on a stretcher by the paramedics, the priest told us all to look toward the back of the church, so we could see the usher sitting up and talking as he was wheeled toward the rescue truck.  There weren’t too many dry eyes in the church, but there was a lot of prayer and there were many helpers.