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I never tire of hearing stories about acts of kindness and service shown to others. They warm my heart, and they also give me ideas for ways I can show love to the people around me. I recognize the truth of the following words from George L. Bell: “You can pretend to care, but you can’t pretend to show up.” Here are a handful of simple stories where people saw a need and not only cared, but proved it through action:
Showing Up by Noticing
The first Sunday my two youngest daughters decided to attend the local YSA ward, I was surprised how lonely I felt sitting by myself on the bench at church waiting for sacrament meeting to begin. My husband’s calling rarely allowed him to attend our home ward. My loneliness must have shown on my face, because the Bishop’s wife—Amalie—smiled at me warmly from across the aisle and whispered, “Come sit with us!”
I hesitated, but she seemed so earnest in her invitation that I joined her on the bench with her children. Amalie put her arm around my shoulders and gently squeezed, making me feel welcome with her family. Of course, l would have survived the meeting had I stayed on my bench by myself, but how sweet it was to be noticed and included on a day when I felt alone.
Showing Up to Ease Stress
Lindsay had just graduated from cosmetology school and was preparing to take the state board licensing exam. Each person taking the exam was required to bring their own “model” with them for the whole day, so the student could demonstrate the many skills and techniques learned at school, concluding the test by giving a haircut, perm, and style. Lindsay felt lucky to have her model lined up in plenty of time.
However, the night before the exam, there was a huge snowstorm in the western states, and Lindsay received a late call from her model who was stranded in Idaho and couldn’t make it to Salt Lake City for the exams due to extreme weather conditions. Lindsay was frantic. She was leaving on a mission in a few weeks, and this was the last time the state board exam would be administered before she entered the MTC.
In a panic, she called a friend because she couldn’t think how to find a model with so little notice. Amy kindly listened and tried to calm her down, then Lindsay ended the call so she could think of a solution. Within sixty minutes Amy called back to say she’d found a model. Sensing Lindsay’s stress, Amy had run from door to door in her apartment complex in spite of the late hour, searching for a college student who would be willing to be the model, promising a free haircut and perm. Finally, one freshman had accepted. Lindsay had her model! Her relief was tremendous, and decades later her heart still fills with gratitude when she recalls the way Amy showed love through her actions.
Showing Up to Work
After breaking my foot two years ago, I found myself in a non-weight bearing cast. A knee scooter helped me get around pretty well, so I was able to keep up with laundry and most household chores during my months of recovery, but scrubbing the kitchen floor was difficult.
My oldest daughter and her young sons, ages six, five, and three, showed up at my house one morning and announced that they were going to “swab the deck.” Apparently, whenever Sarah wanted her pirate-crazy boys to help her scrub the floor at home, they responded enthusiastically if she called it “swabbing the deck.” They instructed me to get comfortable on the couch with my foot elevated. While Sarah thoroughly swept the kitchen floor, my little grandsons maneuvered all of the kitchen counter stools and all of the dining chairs into the family room.
While they worked, Sarah turned on a special chore play list, filled the kitchen sink with water and Lemon Pine Sol, handed each boy a sopping wet rag, and then Daniel, Peter, and Micah got down on their hands and knees and proceeded to “swab my deck.” I had to laugh as they sang along to the song “It’s a Hard Knock Life,” from the musical Annie. Sarah touched up any spots that were missed. When the floor was completely dry, the boys returned all of the chairs and stools to their original spots, hugged me goodbye, and left me with a sparkling kitchen floor and a grateful heart. They repeated this act of service a couple of times while my foot healed.
Showing Up to Give Comfort
One Sunday, while attending Relief Society out of state, I heard a woman share a personal story. When she was called as a Young Women leader, she made it a point whenever she was with the girls to remind them that, “Heavenly Father loves you, Jesus loves you, and I love you.”
Many months later, this sister was devastated when her husband unexpectedly left her. Weeks passed, then during one of her darkest days, she was deeply touched when her young women showed up on her front porch, each with a note and a flower, telling her, “Heavenly Father loves you, Jesus loves you, and we love you.”
Showing Up for the Elderly
Janet was in her late eighties and living on a fixed income. Though she had once been able to hire a landscaping service to take care of her large yard, she no longer had the funds to do so, and her flower beds and shrubs were looking rough. While visiting Janet one day, her daughter noticed how bad things were getting and decided to text her siblings and grandchildren to invite them to a “weeding party” that weekend.
The weeding party never happened, because the next evening Janet informed her daughter that her wonderful ministering brother—who was seventy and recently widowed—spent nearly eight hours that day weeding and trimming all of the flower beds and bushes on the property. Richard had noticed a need and just showed up and started working. When Janet discovered him toiling in the yard, he merely asked that she occasionally bring him a drink of water throughout the day.
Showing Up for a Stranger
“[Several summers ago] my wife and I got the call that no parent wants to get: a doctor calling from an ICU far away, saying that our son was ill, was intubated, and unconscious—and they didn’t know what he had. “If you can come,” he said, “you should come now.”
“We started booking flights, but more than anything, we just wished we could be there, holding his hand, telling him we were there, whether he could hear us or not. I immediately posted a request for prayers on Facebook and got an instant reply from Episcopal Deacon Bob Greiner in Boston, a past guest on my podcast who I had only interviewed for thirty minutes a few years earlier. He said he would go to the ICU, and would I mind if he prayed with my son?
“Yes,” I said, “Thank you! Please! Hold his hand, tell him we’re coming, and please pray out loud so he hears you.” That’s exactly what Deacon Bob Greiner did. What an angel! And what a gift from a near stranger who had eyes to see what we needed and what he could do.”
Showing Up Like the Savior
Showing up for someone who is lonely, grieving, stressed, or unable to do for themselves, is one of the best ways to emulate Jesus Christ. The scriptures are filled with examples of the Savior showing up—responding to those who were sick, mourning, disabled, or spiritually depressed. He was constantly out among the people lifting their burdens.
Ultimately, Jesus showed up for all of us in Gethsemane and Calvary, doing what we could not do for ourselves. Surely, we who are forever in His debt for overcoming sin and death can demonstrate our appreciation by showing up for our brothers and sisters in need.
