Tag Archives: helping others

Prayer can help the people left devastated by flooding in Houston. So too can monetary donations, blood donations, and volunteers. Our friends and family in Florida appreciate our prayers.  They also appreciate offers of safe places to stay, people to help prepare, donations to organizations that offer support and clean up, and a sympathetic ear.

It is so easy for us to hide in our metal boxes as we speedily pass people in need. “Someone else will stop” we think to ourselves.

My 7-year-old was recently asked to write about why she volunteers to help the homeless. When I presented the question to her, her answer was very simple, “Because it’s fun.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Only the suffering God can help.” OK, let’s try this idea on for size. Let’s say a friend of mine gets cut by a kitchen knife. It’s not, therefore, a good idea for me to help him stop the bleeding. No. The best way for me to help would be for me to cut myself, too, so the two of us can bleed all over the place.

I recognize the extreme impact that simple acts can and do have on individuals. Let me explain.

I am writing this article under the influence of mild depression. I think the lack of sun these past couple weeks combined with a long litany of sad events is the cause.