“He gave me hope.”

This is how we know the smallest, everyday interactions we have with each other are important, and noticed.

Mark Ross got a call in the middle of the night to say his sister had died. I have an idea of how that feels. Of how it feels to rush to be with someone who is dying or has died and your loved ones and not being able to get there fast enough.

But the police office who pulled him over chose to be human, to react in a way that we see and hear too little about on the news. He connected, he empathized, he helped—and it made all the difference.

Mark shared his story on his Facebook page:

“At 3am I got a phone call stating that my sister had been killed in a car accident due to some young dumb punk! I haven’t slept and instantly got on the road. Of course we were speeding, trying to get back to Detroit. And we got pulled over in Ohio. I knew I was going to Jail due to a petty warrant. The police called Wayne county and they refused to come get me because of the distance. I explained to the officer that my sister had died and that I needed to get to my mother asap. I broke down crying and he saw the sincerity in my cry. He REACHES OVER AND BEGAN PRAYING OVER ME AND MY FAMILY. He offered to bring me 100 miles further to Detroit because they towed the vehicle. Everybody knows how much I dislike Cops but I am truly Greatful for this Guy. He gave me hope.”

Since then his page has been flooded with messages of condolence and the story is in the media and trending. It’s so encouraging to see someone helping another person in a situation that could have turned out differently—and all to often has—in other cases. What’s even better is to see the us paying attention.

More of this in the media, please. Because there are good guys out there, and plenty of them.

~

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