Nauvoo Times - Daryl Hoole - Do the Right Things Right

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.)

--Virginia Newman

Please see next month for “The Top Job”