Water shortages. Hurricanes. Wildfires. Afghanistan. COVID. Political discord. Racial tension. I check the news each day and wonder when I’m finished why I continue to do so. You read it and step away persuaded the larger story after you put all the pieces together is that we’re nearing the end of human civilization as we know it. Maybe we are. Some days, I think it might not be the worst idea for God to introduce another cataclysmic event and start fresh; I’d even volunteer as the first of numberless victims if it would accelerate the cleanup. It’s very depressing, staying informed about the state of the world. Add on top of this a poor-night’s sleep, and the future looks bleak, at best.

This is the state of my mind as I wake up on a recent Sunday morning. Shortly, I’ll get up and around and begin the task of prepping the kids for church, which is easier than it used to be but still a chore. I want to go, but I also want to stay in bed. It’s supposed to be a day of rest and I don’t feel rested. But the place we’re going is about reminding ourselves about the truth of a hope we have, and I realize our gathering effectively counters the negative picture of the world that we’re served in our exhausting 24/7 news cycle. This is why we go and why it will remain ever more important to do so.

I don’t know if my occasional less-than-optimistic perspective of the human theater is simply a side-effect of middle-age or if it’s an accurate reflection of the way things actually are. In the course of a conversation with my wife recently, it occurred to me that I rarely ever encounter in my circle of influence any of the dangers or desperate circumstances detailed in the news. Day to day life for me is not too bad when juxtaposed against the headlines, which retain such power to make pessimists of us all. Nonetheless, it’s a mess out there.

“Why would I bring a child into this screwed-up world?” the thought goes. I’ve heard this a few times over the years. On one of these very news sites, I recently read surveys have found that the number of couples choosing to remain childless has been steadily increasing over the years. While parenting isn’t for everyone, among the reasons cited in the article, many, I was persuaded, were somewhat self-serving. But to this particular question posed as to why one would introduce a child to such a broken and backward world, I found my own answer on a routine morning errand.

The day before, Saturday, is donut day. Our youngest knows this and rises out of bed to prepare diligently for it the way some begin the day with religious devotions or prayer. It’s one of the few days of the week there’s a strong chance he’ll get himself dressed and ready with almost no direction or nagging from me. While his sisters prefer to snooze away the morning, opting for extra sleep, he knocks on our bedroom door to announce he is now ready for iced pastries with sprinkles.

So, I pull myself out of bed, get myself together and drive us there. Our routine is so established that the shop owner knows us by name. We sit down to our breakfast and talk of favorites and school. After that, we head for a quick run to the store for a few things. I expect a hint of whining since it delays Saturday morning cartoons, but I hear no protests from the backseat.

After parking, I decide to encourage good habits and recruit him as a helper. He enthusiastically grabs a small cart and follows me carefully around for the few things we need. Checking out, he places our items on the belt, pushes the cart outside, helps me load our purchases into the van, and even eases the cart to the designated spot in the parking lot. I’m pleased to observe he does it all eagerly and without complaint.

It’s a delight as a parent when your child selflessly takes initiative to help others. It’s an even greater pleasure when they generously step in and take on an altruistic task entirely on their own. When we arrived home, he insisted upon carrying everything inside himself, that I didn’t need to. I’m not sure what came over him, but I certainly didn’t discourage it. Once he completed the task, I made sure to give him a sizable dose of praise before he moved on with his day, ensuring that he would find satisfaction in repeating the same behavior next time the opportunity arose.

It may sound like an unremarkable moment, but as a parent, it’s small moments such as these that give you hope not only for your child’s character but also for the world they will inhabit. Yes, the world is and can be a nasty place, and they are bound to encounter their share of the worst of it. But I realized the world will also encounter them and, God-willing, will be made better for it if we’ve done our job of instilling in them the values that will improve it. The choice not to bring children into this crazy world is a belief that influence runs only in one direction — against them. We all, however, make a contribution to the world, whether great or small, and, if we’re fortunate, we catch our share of glimpses of our kids’ characters pushing in the opposite direction of the most worrisome headlines.

I recently watched a documentary about a former high-profile Hollywood film producer whose career-long misbehavior was largely the impetus for the “Me Too” movement. To listen to the multitude of survivors recount his repetitively gross abuse of power and influence was to witness a transformation from someone who merely committed such deplorable acts to someone who inescapably became the awful thing itself, through and through. I have no doubt it may also have started with a small, seemingly unremarkable series of moments, perhaps in childhood or maybe a little later. Regardless, his own character pivoted at a critical point, and the world he would later create around him would become worse both for himself and for others.

Bob Marley famously said, “The people who are trying to make this world worse are not taking the day off. Why should I?” Now, I’m not a fan of reggae and I don’t subscribe to all of Marley’s convictions, but that’s good stuff. He shared these words only two days after intruders had shot him in his home and he had chosen to perform as scheduled instead of quietly and reclusively recovering from his injuries. He knew the world, even then, could be a terrible place, but he also knew he could bravely push in the other direction.

Parenting, at its best and most inspiring, is a chance to change the world. This is why we choose to bring children into it. They may or may not ultimately move mountains or multitudes, but they might simply inject a little more kindness and consideration into it thanks to many small, unremarkable moments that encourage their character. If we all took this thought to heart in such moments while raising our kids, we might actually stand a chance of changing the headlines.