An Act of Goodwill

When 4 out of 5 kids are sick we watch a lot of movies. One of the ones we watched last week was called Klaus.

Yes, it’s a Christmas movie.

And, yes, we watched it before Thanksgiving.

It’s not my style to do anything Christmas-y before December 1^st, but I was looking for something new, and it looked entertaining.

The movie is about the bratty son of a prestigious postman. The wealthy father is trying to train his son, Jesper, to be a postman, but Jesper has no ambition and deliberately does things to distinguish himself as the worst student. He doesn’t think he needs to learn anything and should just get whatever he wants.

The father wants to teach his son a lesson. He sends Jesper to a remote island in the freezing north and tells him he can’t come home until a certain number of letters have been posted.

Unfortunately the residents of the island are in the middle of a long-standing feud, and every other postman that has been stationed there has run away. The task seems impossible until Jesper figures out a way to trick the children into writing letters to an old toy maker on the far side of the island.

The children write a letter, Jesper delivers it, and the toy maker, with the help of Jesper, delivers a toy. It seems like a win-win situation.

And it kind of is.

Too bad it’s only being done so that Jesper can leave the island.

Luckily he learns a lesson about kindness and his motives change.

Klaus, the toy maker, explains to Jesper that “a true act of goodwill always sparks another.” The whole movie is the result of the sparks of one good act—the first secret toy delivered to a young boy. The feuding families start doing kind things for each other; a forgotten school teacher remembers why she became a teacher; Klaus and Jesper become friends and Jesper falls in love with the island and the people.

It was a good message to hear.

Our actions cause a ripple effect.

The good acts we do bring about more good.

What act of goodwill can you do this week?