Every day, Americans are bombarded by bad news. Violence, addiction, poverty — these and other variations of human suffering show up in the headlines all too often. As the old saying goes, “If it bleeds, it leads.”

What we don’t hear about quite so often anymore are the good stories; stories of neighbors helping neighbors, stories of caring, stories of triumph over adversity. With so much bad, the good is easily muted or brushed to the side.

The good news is, these stories are still out there, just waiting to be told. Earlier this week, a woman with such a story came into the offices of the Washington Daily News.

Barbara Walton’s story began in tragedy. Her son was hospitalized in late July, after being carried away by a rip current at Ocracoke. While he survived the ordeal, he is still at Vidant Greenville Hospital, fighting for his life in intensive care.

Like any other caring mother, Walton from her home in Tennessee immediately, knowing only that she needed to be close to her son. When it became apparent that his healing might be a long process, Walton was at a loss as to how she would be able to stay by his side. She even considered sleeping in a tent for the foreseeable future while he remains in the hospital.

That’s when the good story began.

She connected with the owners of a local campground who set her up in a cabin through the first week of August. Beyond that, they agreed to help her as long as she needed. They gave her a place to stay and access to a vehicle. Her neighbors at the campground have helped her in any way they could.

At every turn, this woman has encountered the goodness of our community. Even though she is 500 miles away from home, strangers have wrapped her in love and kindness in some of her hardest days. Walton says that she could never imagine this happening where she is from.

This says something, not only about the quality of people who live in this area, but the condition of humanity in general. It is true that terrible things happen every day. It is also true that these awful events often receive their undue share of attention. Yet we should all take comfort in knowing that miracles such as that experienced by Walton also take place every day.

In closing her journal entries about her time here, Walton wrote that the kindness she has experienced has helped restore her faith in mankind. That is a tremendously powerful statement and one that everyone in this community should be proud of.

So, no matter how bad things look, or how much bad you see in the news or on television, remember that there is just as much good happening. If you keep your eyes open for it, it might just help restore any faith you have lost in the good of humanity.