Relief

Turn on the news. Go on, I dare you. Now count how many negative impacts they highlight in society today. I'd say roughly every case and file was negative, no? This is SAD society. Truly SAD.
I do hope that Japan can heal after the tsunami and earthquake.
I pray for peace in the Middle East.
In the homes I pray for forgiveness for the abused and neglected children.
For the families that are hurting in the world, I pray for their pains to lessen.
I say a silent prayer to all the men and women out there risking their lives for our own.
I pray for Haiti to rebuild and to heal.
For the children that are driven out in droves from Burma, I pray for their safety.
Every melinnulum, every century, every decade, every year, every month, every day, every hour, every minuete, of every second someone somewhere out there in the world is hurting in one way or another. 
Places plead for cash to protect the innocent. Send in relief funds! We need the money to help those that are most unfortunate! Sympathize when you see the picture of the two month old crying for his mother. Feel your heart tug when you see an infant on her sisters back, not over the age of seven scrounging for food. Send these childrens, adults, animals and trees money to survive.
We see these commercials, pleas advertisments every day. On TV, on the buses and in your newspaper. People talk about it, use cell phones, talk on the radio, and sneak it into childrens studies. We tell our children, eat up your broccali, someone out there cant afford thier broccali so you get to eat it.
Unfortunetly this is how it is. We live in a world where there is a division between the fortunate and the less fortunate. The fortunate sympathize and send money, clothes and food. The less fortunate are welcoming the help, yet what the media doesn't cover is how the help is not reaching the people who need it the most. Great we did our part, we sent in $10, but how much of it actually helps? How much of it actually reaches the people? How much of it goes into some one elses pocket?
We send more and more relief to countries that do need the help and yet on closer inspection they are still struggling. They are still hungry, still thirsty, still in need. They don't just want sympathy, they want help.
Houses are being built, makeshift hospitals are being set up, schools are revamped but does this appease the growing hunger? Does this truly help?
I saw a commercial today asking of me $19 to save an animal from being beaten. $19 a week. I can calculate where the money is going, to the food, to the facility then finally to the caretakers. I can see that. Probably a dollar here or there to take care of medical needs, blankets, dog collars and the like.
Apply that to the relief funds. If every person gave a dollar to the relief funds, well in my state that would be roughly 5 million dollars. $5,000,000. If we send that to Haiti then there can be more food bought, more houses raised, more schools built for the children, more everything. However, why does only $1 billion get to them? Where is the rest of the money going? This was in last weeks news. Where did the money go?
I want to do my part in helping the world, but I would rather do it in a way where I can see my labor go into a good cause. I would rather be there building houses than giving $10 so I can see where it goes. I would rather buy the food and sit down with the family than send off the money to an organization that obviously has the money if they are making posters, doing advertisements and radio ads.
I know I'm young but I see this as an issue.
We are all humans and we all have to share this planet. We should all get our hands dirty, down right dirty where our hands down go back to thier natural color for a week. Down a dirty where we have splinters, bruises and blisters digging into our skins. Working so hard we cannot be recognized when leaving the site, walking away with our heads held high and our eyes sparkling. Because we know that we did a good job and we helped out our neighbors. We got down there in the dirt and built a foundation. We built the walls, the windowframes and the roof. We dug into the earth the flowers, the roads the schools, the post offices, the stores. Instead of cold, hard, unfeeling cash we need to be giving, warm and helpful humans.
Please, if we do not start helping now, what will the world look like in a moment, in a month, a year, a decade? Will we recognize what we grew up in? What we taught and worked in?
What will you do?

Last Night

Any ordinary night ends pretty much the same ordinary way. A few texts of fake love and sincere good nights. Last minute questions and reminders for the morning. Say good night, put the phone on vibrate, read a few chapters then crawl into bed. A pretty routine schedule. Off goes the light and I wait for sleep to come.
Last night was no ordinary night. I did not receive the ordinary good night text, or read the ordinary chapter. The light didn't go off as usual and the rain just seemed to continue. I couldn't fall asleep, I was too hot, too cold, too... something was wrong.
I answered the messages then received a different one off the bat. I raced out into the living area and was prepared to answer the phone. Small talk ensued, I was happy. 1 a.m. small talk I could handle.
Small talk I could handle. But news, news that hits you in the gut, drives out all other thoughts, clams up your hands, makes your knees weak and your head spin, that was what I received after the small talk was over. 
The heater tuned out, the clamor upstairs dimmed out, the couch with its comfy cushion felt as hard as a board of wood, the chill that I was fighting crept down my back and into my internals.
In a shocked voice I whispered the callers name into the mouth piece, there was no more that I could say, what was there to say? Quickly the caller changed the morbid topic and with a fake high laugh I went along with it. I heard a yawn, it made me yawn and the caller hung up the phone, promising to call back in the morning.
Walking back to bed I felt numb, scared and awake. I barely remember how I crawled back into bed, the first time. There was nothing I could do, I thought. The feathers on the ceiling fluttered from the heat emanating from the radiator on the floor, reminding me of less worrisome times.
Knowing what I had to do then I flipped the sheets back and raced out of bed. The flashlight clicked on and I dug into my drawers to find my Bible, the best source to ask my questions. I opened the new pages and let my fingers find the page. With growing pain I ran my finger down the page and stopped on a passage. In my tear filled eyes I found the passage, "... men are beasts." He had presented me with the words I needed.
The words I needed told me of how all things happen for a reason.  For every good action in the world, there is an opposite bad action. Unfortunately it had come full circle.
For every birth there is a death, for every death there is a birth. For every penny that is earned someone else loses one. For every penny lost there is another gained. For every blessing there is a curse, and for every curse there is a blessing.
This is what I read by the light of my torch. I had asked and He had answered. I felt better but not relieved. Pain does not go away just by words. Pain does not go away just by talking. Pain does not go away with the knowledge that someone else is having a better day. Pain does not always go away.
I heard valuable advice from a friend today, you do not understand a situation until you experience it. Until then you can only be sympathetic, not empathetic. You do not know what they are going through, you do not know what they are thinking, truly feeling or what desires they have anymore. They may not be the same person. I can only be sympathetic in the late night callers message.
Before I finally went to bed I wrote a last text message, I wrote: "I will be there for you." It was all I could do. All I can do is be there for that person. All I can do is offer my shoulder and my ear. I will not pressure them, I will not ask details. I will say my piece, how I am there for that person and will always be, even though I am only a sympathetic person, not fully an empathetic one.
My last thought before I fell asleep into a pillow stuffed full of tissues was 'scream and holler about the pain, for it is only human to feel it." It is true, we all are humans and we all mistakes. But this is not a mistake, and He cannot take away the pain completely.
He knows that he can give us these problems for He knows that we are strong enough to survive.
I did not understand being sympathetic and being empathetic until last night. I may not be the strongest person alive either. But at best I can offer my shoulder, my ear, and my love to those that need it. It is unlimited love, just as the love He gave us.
Please offer yours as well to any of your friends who may need it but do not have the strengh to ask. The caller asked and I gave, I gave because I had. If I had none I would still offer. Hope and Friendship is worth more than all the money in the world. More.

I’m Yours

Well, you done done me and you bet I felt it 

I tried to be chill but your so hot that I melted 

I fell right through the cracks, now I'm tryin to get back 

before the cool done run out I'll be givin it my best test 

and nothin's gonna stop me but divine intervention 

I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some 

But I won't hesitate no more, 

no more, it cannot wait 

I'm yours   

Well open up your mind and see like me 

open up your plans and damn you're free 

look into your heart and you'll find love love love love 

listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing

We're just one big family

And it's our godforsaken right to be loved loved loved loved loved 

So, i won't hesitate no more, 

no more, it cannot wait i'm sure 

there's no need to complicate our time is short 

this is our fate

I'm yours 

Scooch on over closer, dear

And I will nibble your ear

I've been spendin' way too long checkin' my tongue in the mirror 

and bendin' over backwards just to try to see it clearer 

But my breath fogged up the glass 

and so I drew a new face and I laughed 

I guess what I'd be sayin' is there ain't no better reason 

to rid yourself of vanities and just go with the seasons 

it's what we aim to do 

our name is our virtue 

But I won't hesitate no more, 

no more it cannot wait

I'm yours 

Well open up your mind and see like me 

open up your plans and damn you're free 

look into your heart and you will find that the sky is yours 

so please don't, please don't, please don't, 

there's no need to complicate, 

Cause our time is short 

This, this, this is our fate, 

I'm yours

Delusional People

How would we not get on in life,

If we did not have our companions

That stick with us by and by

In thick or thin happy or sad

With tears in our eyes or smiles on our faces

How on earth could we not get on with out friends?

A person may have enemies, but also friends

That’s what is in a real life

We may try to look different and have different faces

But that’s for the delusional ones, no true companies

Sometimes they can cheer you up when you are sad

And when you are happy they never say Good-bye!

The one you cant trust always say goodbye

They’re the ones your mother told you not to be friends

With. When friends tend to leave, you always feel sad

But you know they will come back, hey, that’s life

You can make a bond with so many companions

Just remember the ones you can trust always have smiles on their faces

With your summer ones you can feel the sun on your faces

And hang out the new ones that live nearby

First there was a few and now there are even more companions 

Each of the calling each other their friends

A get together is the best way to meet more in life

The more that you have the less likely you will be sad

I may have said before, but I am never truly sad

I tend to be the one who helps smiles on others faces

A believe there is nothing better in life

Than to have someone say hello and good-bye

Such is the true closeness of friends

Even if for a short time they may only be companions

For an example of a quick one; on a hike they are companions

But on a low occasion, such a person can’t be sad

The ones that you can truly trust are true friends

But the ones you just met are still only faces

Some of them truly mean it when they say Good-bye

But there are always the ones who will stay with you through life

True Friends, Only Faces

Not Sad, Don’t Say Good-Bye

Sometimes Companions, Always in Life

Giggles, a Bucket Full

"Rain boots or cute shoes?" I mumbled to myself. I peeked through the shade and saw the looming clouds. "Rain boots."
I slipped them on, gathered my school things, pulled on my jacket and glanced at Frannie, she looked asleep still so I waltzed out the door.
I met Krista on my trudge through the campus and giggled at her discomfort in her new 'trudge boots.' It was a good day to wear them, no doubt about that. We stepped into the swamp that been created overnight after the flood passed through. Spring was just around the corner, you could smell the signs of new buds, fresh rain and ... fresh poop. The geese had been there the day before. Discusting creatures!
Krista laughed and I saw that she had stepped halfway up her boot already in the mud. I slipped my arm into the crook of hers and she leaned on me for support. I suppose my galoshes were meant for this weather! "I gotchya!" I laughed and we made our way across the quad. This was going to be a trip, we only needed to go 100 feet in two minutes and it felt like hours!

But as everyone knows, a trip is worth the time when you go with good friends, a few mistakes and a bucket full of laughs to help you along the way.

The Child was Clearly Upset

The dark was clearly not the best place to leave a child – even with the distractions of a movie, a warm bottle and the princess nightlight. The promise of one more story kept her eyes open, but at the story reached The End her eyes began droop, believing that her new sister will stay and keep the monsters under the bed at bay. Ever so quietly the reader moved off the bed, avoiding the creaky springs. One slight noise will wake the sleeping child like a firecracker.  As the movie filled with prince and princesses played on, the reader crept out of the room, leaving the book on the night table and closing the door with a satisfactory soft click. Finally some peace in the house. She crept down the stairs avoiding the last one with the creaky board.  Outside the family dog strained at his leash, his nightly routine over with.  The cold was setting in, his short fur wasn’t used to it yet. The sitter rescued the dog from his cold torment and brought him inside.  The thud of the door made both the girl and the dog wince; they were both new to the sounds of the old house.  Hearing nothing from the sleeping occupant in the upstairs besides the murmuring TV, she opened her long forgotten book and began to read.  The child up stairs awoke to the sound of the front entrance closing and sat up in bed.  Her new sister was no longer there; her book lay on the table closed, its shiny library cover mocking her.  The movie was no longer playing; it was just grey snowy screen with no purpose. She clutched her over stuffed panda and snuffed into its ear, watching the flickering static from the TV dance across the wall, creating monsters that with eyes that glowed in night.  She dove in to the bed and whimpered.  Monsters only came when she left. She sobbed again and curled into a tighter ball, her bear seeming to be miles away; something went bump and landed on her rumpled cover.  She let out a scream of alarm and hugged her knees even closer.  Footsteps were coming up the stairs, was it another monster? She let out another scream, this one to keep the monster at bay. The door opened and the hall light illuminated everything in the room. “Liv?” asked the monster. “Where are you?” The bedroom clicked on, reflecting off the open window.  The clicking of the beagle’s paws were heard through the blankets but to her it was another monster. The sitter could hear the muffled sobs coming form the mound at the end of the bed. Carefully she peeled the many layers of stuffed animals pillows and blankets off the petrified child.  Big wet tears shed down her face, her eyes were closed tight in fear as the sitter scooped the child into her arms and into the rocking chair.  What monster used rocking chairs and sang lullabies? Cautiously she opened an eye and looked at her monster – it was her sister! Sighing she curled up again in her big sisters arms, the monsters disappearing as fast as the tears on her face.

My Wish - Rascal Flatts

I hope that the days come easy and the moments pass slow,
And each road leads you where you want to go,
And if you're faced with a choice, and you have to choose,
I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.
And if one door opens to another door closed,
I hope you keep on walkin' till you find the window,
If it's cold outside, show the world the warmth of your smile,

But more than anything, more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

I hope you never look back, but ya never forget,
All the ones who love you, in the place you left,
I hope you always forgive, and you never regret,
And you help somebody every chance you get,
Oh, you find God's grace, in every mistake,
And always give more than you take.

But more than anything, yeah, and more than anything,
My wish, for you, is that this life becomes all that you want it to,
Your dreams stay big, and your worries stay small,
You never need to carry more than you can hold,
And while you're out there getting where you're getting to,
I hope you know somebody loves you, and wants the same things too,
Yeah, this, is my wish.

This is my wish
I hope you know somebody loves you
May all your dreams stay big