Paul and I smiled at each other, hands clasped in the back seat. What a blessing this man is to his family. He knows being a husband is more than congratulating a woman on her hair or her figure. He knows that fatherhood isn't tied to being a blood relation. He and his wife and their children have brought so much joy and stability to each other by ordinary, day-to-day encouraging each other, building each other up.
Every day we can say quiet words, do quiet gestures of caring, to affirm people's lovableness, place rainbows among the dark clouds hovering over them. A comment on Facebook - "I'm praying for you." A smile at a cashier as you say "Have a blessed day!" A hug for a child who's bumped an elbow. Holding a bank door for a lady on a walker. That kind of love, encouragement, and building up is the simple glue that, if more people did it on a committed, daily basis, could mend a broken world.