Helping Hands – Willing Souls

Last night I joined a group of more than 40 volunteers gathered together on a warm, muggy evening ready and willing to roll up their sleeves and get to work.  The plan was a rather simple one, but as simple as it may have appeared, it took orchestration and desire beyond those individuals waiting patiently in the church parking lot to be assigned to families willing to let strangers in.

The idea in forming this monthly service project, appropriately titled “Power Hour,” was to provide eight to ten families a group of helping hands from willing souls to give service for yard work, house cleaning, home repairs or whatever the need.  Each month the plan will be repeated, bringing together those willing to help others for a small but effective period of time.  This was the first Power Hour of many to come, and I have to admit I was concerned about the number of people who would volunteer to participate—not so much those who would show up to do the work but rather those families willing to have work done for them.

It is easier to allow others in when you feel burdened and have nowhere to turn, but how about before we get to that state, are we able to put pride aside and allow help from those who just want to serve us?  Today I was sent a story that ties in well to this one.  It took place almost five years ago off the California coast near the Farallon Islands.  A crab fisherman had spotted a female humpback whale in distress.  She had become tangled in the lines connecting about a dozen crab traps each weighing 90 pounds, forcing this whale to struggle just to keep her blowhole above water.  The nylon lines that connected these traps were wrapped around her torso, front left flipper and through her mouth, and one line was wrapped at least four times around her tail.  In some places the binding ropes were cinched so tight from her struggle that they had cut into her flesh.  It took four divers about an hour to cut her loose from this entanglement, and one of the divers reported that during their work she remained calm, allowing them to safely free her.  At that moment she circled her rescuers and then, approaching each one, nuzzled and gently played with them before swimming away.  One of the divers stated, “It seemed kind of affectionate, like a dog that’s happy to see you.”  This experience and gentle show of gratitude has undoubtedly left those divers with a sense of appreciation embedded not just on their minds but also in their hearts.

It is easier to allow others in when we are at our rope’s end, feeling there is nowhere to turn and struggling to come up for air.  But the lesson I wish to convey is, “How willing are we to allow others to do good and receive it graciously even though it may not be life-saving?”  Sometimes it just takes having a few tasks removed from our burden to become untangled from those things that weigh us down.  And hopefully this gentle nudge will bring us an understanding that sometimes it takes small but meaningful acts to bring us to a new place, allowing us to once again move freely.

In Other Words:

Wings of Angels

Wings of Angels

On wings of angels we too may fly,

Freeing us from our world of care

And finding lo that freedom is found

Not from the sky but on the ground.

A cherub might our rescuer seem

When we do cry and wish to bring

Us far away from earthen woes

And far away from dreaded foes.

Do we not see most angels come,

Not floating down from up above

But rather on this earth’s same sod

As they do walk by following God?

Do we know care to be a hand

Of help, of hope, a strengthening band,

Or are we blind in sightless paths

Through selfish pride we let them pass?

A weakened state or fallen form,

This may be what is needed from

Each one who bends and bows to break

Their unwillingness of help to take.

Do we not see most angels come,

Not floating down from up above

But rather on this earth’s same sod

As they do walk by following God?

So as you see your angels come

To serve you well and lift you from

Those low, dark places on earthen sod,

Be glad they knew to walk with God.

~A.E.Gold/August 2010~

Finding Joy . . . Once Again!

 If you could go back to the carefree life of a child would you?  Most likely not, but how many of us remember what it was like to not be encumbered by life’s problem allowing ourselves to have JOY, simple Joy?

I believe there are many of you who feel that simple joy is completely out of reach in the life of an adult.  I would beg to differ on this matter.  Even though we have much of life’s complications that can get in the way of our happiness I believe it is an important skill to learn to separate yourself from your problems.  This does not mean throwing them aside and not holding up to the responsibilities that are tagged to them.  Rather it means that in spite of your problems, learn what it takes to tap into that joy you found as a uninhibited child.  Drawing from it in times of need is crucial to finding deep happiness in life.

So, how is it done?  Once again I will go back to the action of gratitude.  If you are grateful for what you have, rather than miserable for what you do not have, you will begin to learn how to find happiness.  I do believe however, in order to tap into lasting joy there is one more component.  That component involves touching the life of, or allowing your life to be touched by others through (Here is the word you’ll hear time and time again) . . . . . service.

It is fairly easy to find joy in moments such as my boys in the above photo having a tractor ride on a warm summer day, but to seek after lasting joy can bring a new direction and meaning to your world.  And with this quest you will not just affect your own attitude, but you will find others drawn into your realm.  Surely, this sounds like a quest worth fighting for, especially when the end results can bring back peace and happiness long forgotten from your childhood.

In Others’ Words:

It is one of the most beautiful compensations in

life . . . . we can never help another

without helping ourselves.

~ Buddha~

The School of Life - Lessons Learned

A few years ago I finally found something I had been in search of for over a decade.  This prized possession was a school desk that happened to be over a hundred years old and had come from a one-room schoolhouse in the Midwest.  I loved the nostalgic feeling it brought with it of children from so long ago spending countless hours within its confines learning lessons to take them to a brighter future.  It symbolized restraint yet freedom at the same time.

How often do we have lessons in life that we are not allowed to get up and walk away from?  Lessons that feel like they are holding us back from the wide-open world that awaits us as we gaze out that window on a warm sunny day.  Yet, by staying there and taking the time to learn and grow we later realize how important those lessons were in preparing us with a greater understanding of the world beyond our doorstep, beyond anything we had yet explored.

I had such an experience one year ago to the day when I first found out I had cancer.  The life lessons I’ve learned from this tutor have prepared me for a grander world.  Cancer has brought me a deeper knowledge of the importance of service to others.  These lessons have been taught not just by the lessons learned of dealing with adversity, but also by the countless teachers who have been my substitutes when I couldn’t do for myself all that I wanted to.

So, as our school bell rings and releases us for another day I welcome you along as I venture out into the world to see who I can find and serve.

In Others’ Words:

Some measure their lives by days and years,

Others by heart throbs, passion and tears.

But the surest measure under the sun

Is what in your lifetime for others you’ve done.

~ Author Unknown~