Years
ago, when our children were young, Hank and I designated an upcoming
Saturday for some extra projects around the house, with the promise
of milkshakes when the work was done.
The
work progressed as planned, and about 3:00 the children went outside
to play while Hank and I finished up and prepared to join them for
the five-minute walk from our house to the ice cream store. In the
meantime, however, our yard filled with the children’s
neighborhood friends.
We
were just ready to interrupt their play and send the neighbors to
their homes, when an idea flashed in our minds. What if, instead of
taking our children for milkshakes, we invited the friends to join us
for ice cream cones?
We
consulted our children, and there was an enthusiastic unanimous
response: “Ice cream cones for everyone.”
Whether
it’s a matter of exercising compassion, building relationships,
or giving second mile service it’s all about using our hearts
as well as our heads as we strive to not only do the right things,
but endeavor to do those things right.
This
poem, a favorite of mine for many years, illustrates the point.
No Half Loaf This
Friendly were the words you said,
Tendering the loaf of bread,
Oven warm and savory;
How much that gesture meant to me.
Almost a stranger, lonely, too,
And gladdened by the sight of you.
I would repay you if I could.
Oh, yes, the bread was extra good.
(I’d like that recipe some day.)
But let me ask you, if I may,
How you acquired the finer art
Of nourishing the hungry heart?
I never had the knack somehow,
(I’d like that recipe right now.)
A native of Salt Lake City, Daryl Hoole has written and lectured extensively on home
management and family living. She has served on the ward, stake, regional, and general levels of
the Church. It has also been her privilege to fulfill three missions -- once to the Netherlands
when she was young and single; another time as companion to her husband as he presided over
the Netherlands Amsterdam Mission; and the third time with two other senior couples as Asia
Area Welfare/Humanitarian Administrators, headquartered in Hong Kong.
She and her husband Hank and are the parents of eight living children, the grandparents of thirty-six, and the great-grandparents of a rapidly increasing number.