In the Midst of Storms…

I was giving a ride to a woman going to a surgery, removal part of her lung, I assumed it had to do with cancer, but she didn’t say anything. She seems very calm before talking, suddenly she said, life is just a combo of fighting days, with some of the content moments, happiness? -talking to herself- I’ve never experienced that in my whole life, but I am content.

Then she started to share her day to the hospital, a retired woman who told me, society is tough, pushing all of us, seniors to the curve because we are not that productive anymore. She said had worked for the County most of her life and had helped many people, and she always said the truth to those in need: It is what it is, and if you don’t take it as it is, then you won’t be able to make it through. We talk about the mass of homeless living in LA, like 85,000, an increase of 23% this year.

What can we do? I asked she said, well it requires more than just sharing a sandwich for a mealtime, or perhaps for a day, or maybe that would be the only decent sandwich for the week. I had the opportunity to be in a Mental Hospital just a couple of days before, and I heard from respected authorities in the field, that for every 5 homeless, 1 at least suffers from mental health and they were having an open house in Long Beach to help a number of people that are struggling day by day with many issues in their life, or existence. This lady said, we all have to help.

This is not a program or an activity just to fulfill that selfish feeling of being good by doing the good works, but rather more like walk the extra mile. We can’t judge those in the street, until if we ever had the opportunity to wear their shoes, or maybe walk barefoot. I am very sure, we all have been in many times in moments in life, that we may call storms because it announces destruction and unbalance. We also know that many of those times we rarely if any have control over to calm the storm or bring the “perfect solution” to our problems, and the reason why I say this is because many times we take action and instead of bringing solution we just have created more problems or chaos in the midst of our storms.

Interestedly what could be a storm for us, for some other would be nothing, but just a sad moment. I’ve was driving yesterday in Los Angeles Sub-Urb and I saw a girl jumping and laughing in a backyard full of trash, a complete chaos, she had no nice clothes, but she was having so much fun, while in a just few blocks away, there was a very well dressed woman, crying out, nice house, incredible car, but a rough storm in her mind, yes in the mind. Be content with what you have, that’s what the Bible advice and Jesus said it, be content if you have food and clothes, check out the Ravens, they have no banks, no credit cards, nothing but their life and they live for it. One of the ideas has been on my mind is what can we do to change the life of a homeless?

This lady told me, there is no more chaos than someone not been able to take care of himself. I felt miserable, for real, because that’s what I been thinking. I guess is a lot of work, but as I read one time the story of the kid throwing back fishes to the ocean, the fishes where over the sand, and he was doing it one by one. A man walking by said to him, you are not going able to save all of them, you wasting your time, the kid answer was, I know but for this fish has been worth my time. So this lady said, don’t be discourage and keep helping follow your heart, and always seek a better ways to do it.

So if you ever wonder if has been worth all you do, your help to others many times not being appreciated, or ever able to see the results, I want to remind you, don’t ever get tired of doing good to others, because at the end, is better to do good works than bad works.

God Bless you