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Author Jim Collins ranks his days by numbers. A bad day is -2. A great day is +2. Reader John Wayne Parrish sent the following to make yours a +2 day.

W henever you’re disappointed, stop and think about little Jamie Scott. Jamie was trying out for a part in the school play. His mother knew he’d set his heart on being in it though she feared he would not be chosen. On the day the parts were awarded, she went to collect him after school. Jamie rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement. “Guess what, Mom,” he shouted. “I’ve been chosen to clap and cheer.”

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On a cold day in December some years ago, a little boy about 10-years-old was standing before a shoe store, barefooted, peering through the window. A lady approached and asked why he was staring in the window. He said he was asking God to give him a pair of shoes. The lady took him by the hand, went in and asked the clerk for socks and shoes for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a basin of water and a towel. She took the little fellow to the back of the store, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with the towel. She placed socks and shoes on the boy’s feet, patted him on the head and said, “You will be more comfortable now.” As she turned to go, the astonished child caught her by the hand, and looked up into her face and, with tears in his eyes, asked her. ‘“re you God’s wife?”