The world is full of wonderful things, both big and small. Here are a few very short tales of things from my life are beautifully wholesome. Feel free to leave your own wholesome little thing in the comments.
Sometimes when I’m out walking in the neighborhood, I see an older couple riding their bikes together. They ride slowly, casually. The woman has a wicker basket on her handlebars. The man stops to wait for the woman if he gets too far ahead. They both wear those big sunglasses that go over your regular glasses. They always look happy.
Once, during the pandemic, my family was taking a walk and we found ourselves in the middle of an impromptu bike lesson, complete with spectators. The father was helping a little girl learn to ride without her training wheels. The neighbors were all gathered at the ends of their own driveways, cheering and whooping and yelling things like “Come on! You can do it!” The little girl took off on her own after her dad had run beside her a few paces. The neighbors clapped and hollered. It was a beautiful thing to witness.
I was at a convention a few years ago, and a little boy had lost his parents in the crowd. I watched as a circle of other moms surrounded him, made a plan, hugged him, reassured him. It was one of the holiest things I’ve ever seen.
When I brought my first baby home from the hospital, I let my dogs find him on their own terms. I watched as one of them sniffed the bouncer, where the swaddled infant lay sleeping soundly. The dog nosed around under the blanket, trying to identify what was hidden beneath it. My son stirred and stretched. My dog leaped backwards in fright and began to bark at the baby, but the baby didn’t even open his little, sleepy eyes. The dog went back to sniffing him a few seconds later.
I gave my friend two plants for his garden once. I had too many and needed to make some room. He seemed genuinely surprised by the gift. The look of happiness and gratitude on his face still brings me a smile sometimes.
A friend came over one night to help me tear up a section of my yard and plant a garden. Afterwards, as we were chatting, I pruned a rose bush on the other side of the yard. She gathered some of the cut blossoms, and without explaining what she was doing, put them into a vase for me.
Every time a I see a rabbit in the yard at twilight, I always get excited.
I was having a really bad day once, and in the middle of making dinner, I realized I didn’t have any eggs for the recipe. I called my friend who lives a few streets away and asked him if he could bring me a couple. He dropped by the house with the rest of his carton (7 in total) and told me I could have them. Before he left, he told me I was beautiful.
There’s a hill behind the kids’ school that’s surrounded by pine trees. I like to sit there and think, or pray, or soak up its spiritual energy. One of my friends once referred to it as “the little hill of heaven” and it was a joy to learn that other people know of its power.
My husband bought himself a plushie once. Yes, you read that right. He was opening the package in front of my daughter and when it came out of the box, she exclaimed “Daddy! Is that for me!?” I giggled quietly as he asked if they could share it and she agreed.
My in-laws had a dog once that would sing (howl) if you played the harmonica. She was an 80 pound, beautiful snuggle-baby. On the night before they put her down, we took the kids to get ice cream, and then we sat in my in-law’s yard. The dog was laying in the grass, panting. My one year old daughter sat down next to her, leaned back against her like she was a recliner, and ate her ice cream cone. The dog seemed to relax.
A dear friend trusted me with writing a character reference letter for the adoption of her daughter.
The first time my son’s best friend spent the night with us, I ordered pizza. The friend’s mom told me liked olives on his pizza. Surprised, but rolling with it, I ordered a half cheese/half olive pizza for them for dinner. As the boys were eating, the friend looked at me and said, “I love olives,” in that sleepy, wonderfully satisfied way.
I was struggling with being the sole parent to my 3 kids for an extended weekend. My husband was out of town at a convention. I was on day 5 of single parenthood and it was starting to wear my bones to dust. My friend pulled up at my house unannounced, left a gorgeous white orchid on my porch, and snuck away. She texted me later asking if I got my surprise. It bloomed for months—which I have since learned is very unusual.
In the midst of an ongoing personal crisis, I had a friend drop off a party invitation to her parent’s 50th wedding anniversary party. Before she left, she thanked me for always being so open and accepting. She told me whenever she sees me, she thinks, “that’s what Christ was like.”
When my niece was born, my sister-in-law gave her to me to hold before anyone else in the family had a chance. It was the first time I really felt like part of the family I had married into.
My friend handwrites me letters. She doodles on the envelope or adds cool stickers. I love being surprised by her notes.
A bird died on our front porch when I was in high school. My dad buried it in the yard. I was crying on the couch when he came back in, and he asked if I was upset about the bird. I expressed frustration with myself that I was crying over a “stupid bird.” My dad sat down next to me, put his arm around me and said “It’s not silly to care about the creatures of the world. It means you have the heart of God.”
I read a book called Marsh Cat when I was in fifth grade. It was a short novel about a feral cat doing cat things in the wild. I looked for it off and on for years, even though I did not remember the name of the author. I finally found a copy on an online used book seller, and purchased it for the shocking price of $1. When it arrived, I was pleased to find that it had an inscription on the inside cover. It was a message from the author, Peter Parnall, wishing the owner a happy 21st birthday.
I was assisting at a home birth once, and the baby ended up being born in the early morning hours of December 3rd, which is also my birthday.
The Quick and the Dead 