Last week I was driving down a four lane highway, cars zipping past on both sides and a beat up old pick-up truck driving way to close to my rear bumber, bullying me to go faster. Suddenly traffic stopped. All four lanes were at a complete standstill. I craned my neck out my window, trying to see what was blocking the road. For the longest time I saw nothing- no accident, no pedestrians, no debris that could explain why we weren’t moving. But then, slowly waddling out between the stopped cars, was a mama duck and her seven brand new babies. None of the cars moved in either direction, not even an inch, until she had led her ducklings across the vast expanse of road to the safety of the sidewalk on the other side.

I’ll never forget witnessing that moment of pure human decency. It seems like every time I decide that life is pointless, that people are evil and all love and goodness has been drained from the world… something beautiful happens that brings me back. It could be anything- a ray of sunlight that bursts through the clouds and touches the earth like the warm finger of God, the gorgeous peals of laughter that erupt from my daughter when a ladybug lands on her sleeve, even just noticing the stark beauty of a cold night in the city. Something happens, something that reminds me why life is precious and that no matter how lonely and frightening this world can be, a breath of something wonderful is powerful enough to make it all worthwhile again.