blessed are those who go forward...

one of my beautiful friends..."r" is such an inspiration to me...she has got so much love in her heart...and she is always looking for areas in which she may share God's love...how does she do it? she visits the lonely...the ones that have been left in homes...forgotten...the widowed...and on and on...when she speaks of who she visited...she doesn't do it...bragging about it...just in a very casual way..."i had a nice visit with so-and-so" and i sit in awe of this woman...who truly lives how the Lord wanted us to live...to take care of those who can't take care of themselves...or those who have no one...

when you live in a city...you don't have to look far to see impoverished areas that house enough human tragedy to keep you awake nights for the rest of your life...and if you don't see it as drive through the city streets...all you have to do is listen to the local news on tv...stories of bleak faces...tormented and demented minds...hungry children in desperate environments...older citizens stuck in decaying...filthy rooms barely able to take care of themselves...homeless women and children living on the streets...and the circumstances go on and on...

in a land where most people have so much...how can some people have so little?

to see human need is to answer human need...to follow Christ is to embrace the ugliness and neediness of the human family and to say..."how can i help?"

let me tell you how...get involved! if you want happiness...if you want an escape from loneliness and poor self-esteem...if you want true joy...if you want to know the fullness of God's love...then get involved in healing human suffering...

there are nonprofit agencies throughout your town that work every day in the human-need arena...these agencies always have a volunteer program that offers opportunities for people like you to come along...or you can go to a local school and offer your services...

babies and children in the hospital need loving attention..older citizens need meals...children need warm coats...teens need encouragement from a big sister...or brother...mothers need rides to the doctor or the grocery store...frail seniors need a friend and someone to talk to...international students need english teachers...just where can you best fit in?

i had a call this week from one of the seniors i was blessed to meet years back when i was working in the reverse mortgage business...she had been very active working at a center center with me...now she is homebound with complications from a broken hip...she called to get names and phone numbers of other homebound seniors so she could call and cheer them up..."i have a lot of time on my hands..." she said, "and i just thought i could use that time to make life good for another lonely senior..."

most of us are quick to agree that "they" need to do something about the crime and violence in our cities...but what are you doing about it? true...one person can't fix much...but...by the grace of God...everyone can do something to make the city and the world a better place for at least one other person...

blessed are those who do not turn away from the struggles and needs of the human race...blessed are the ones who go forward spreading God's love throughout their streets...the city...and the world...