So many of us want to complain about those on the welfare system who won’t work. We sit in our suburban neighborhoods, sipping our designer coffee, passing judgment on those who we think just don’t do enough. But how many of us are reaching out and trying to help those who want to help themselves? Are you offering to help the single mother who needs a safe place for her small children, or giving a chance to the young man who can’t get a job because he has no work experience and can’t get any work experience because he can’t get a job?

Many are the stories of those who give up, feeling that they have no hope, but one young mother from North Carolina was determined to keep her job, no matter what, and found help in an unlikely place. Her morning shift at Starbucks was starting before the sun even came up, and the childcare for her toddler had fallen through. Her boss kindly told her to come and that they would find a way. As it turned out, that way found them in the form of two state highway patrolmen who went above and beyond the call of duty. The mother’s boss posted their story, and her thanks in a Facebook post, giving credit to whom the credit was due:

“I wanted to send a special shoutout to our very own North Carolina State Highway Patrol. This was the sight at my Starbucks on University Parkway in Winston Salem, NC today. I had an employee call me in tears at 4:30 AM and tell me she had no one to take care of her daughter this morning as she was already on her way in to work. I told her to not worry, we would figure it out and to bring her on. Shortly thereafter, our regular crew of troopers rolled in the door and took this sweet girl right into their care for over an hour. Trooper Brad and one of his fellow partners were outstanding in making sure we could still get our job done and even had a little fun with it. He even bought her a cup that she had been holding on to all morning. This is what the holidays are all about and it made my heart melt to see this unfold today. Thank you, Brad and NC State Troopers everywhere, you guys rock!

#Starbucks #tobeapartner #ncstatehighwaypatrol“

There is so much bad press going around about law enforcement right now, and stories like this get far too little publicity. These two officers obviously take their job of “protect and serve” literally, and that’s a story that should be told. The animosity that is being built up, especially between minorities and police, would start to diminish if we remembered that every single day an office puts on his badge he is offering to give his life for each of us. Whether that’s a life spent, day in and day out patrolling, watching or even taking the early morning babysitting shift. Or if theirs is one of the lives that is given taking a bullet for the innocent, their lives are dedicated to service, and that is something special.

Please, pass on this story of the intersection of a black life and a blue line, and how amazing that can be when each situation is approached in a spirit of giving and kindness.