We Have Hope!

I thought we'd take a break from our "character study" of America, and just feast on this story.  It's enough to make my soul sing!

   

The Good News network recently posted this article, and I thought it was worth reprinting.  Apparently, this picture was photographed in New York City where someone was thrilled to have their wallet returned and desperately wanted to thank the human who was responsible.
     And, of course, once the photo went viral, everyone wanted to share their story of similar kindnesses.  As it turns out, it seems as if this compassionate gesture is more common than one might think.  And I loved how the article voiced this phenomenon .... "it's like little drops of holy water that when collected in one place create an ocean of goodliness."  What a wonderful image!
     So I thought you'd like to hear some of these stories, and let them wash over you like those little drops of holy water....
•  "I have lost my wallet twice in my life: once on an airplane and once in a NYC can. Both times it was mailed back to me anonymously with money and everything still inside...go humans indeed!"
•  "At Paul Simon's 1991 Concert in Central Park I lost my wallet. It was returned to me in the mail! I tell EVERYONE this story! Go Humans!"
•  "Same thing happened to me this week. Left my wallet on the roof of my car. It fell on the road. A nice lady saw it, stopped her car to pick it up, and located me to return it. Go Humans!"
•  "Left my wallet in a Car2Go this summer and the next renter returned it. Go humans!"
•  "There are good people in this world. When getting gas a couple days ago, I accidentally dropped my credit card and didn't realize it until later. I went back to the service station and someone had found it and turned it in. I was so grateful as I am a senior with limited income."
•  "In graduate school I twice (!) lost my purse. Both times it was turned in by a fellow student. "
•  " Many years ago someone broke in a friends car and stole my Gucci purse that was hidden under the seat with cash and credit cards, someone later found and returned the purse using my address from my DL, surprisingly everything was still there. "
•  "I've had a man chase me out of a grocery store with my purse that I'd left in the seat. Huffing and puffing as he reached my door to tell me, ma'am you left this in your cart."
•  "lost my drivers license in Newark, NJ airport and it was returned to me after a week on vacation in NYC! Love you guys on the east coast!"
•  "I lost a Palm Pilot in a cab, back when they made electronics that could store contacts but not make phone calls. The cabbie found it, figured out my name, found my family members in the contacts, called my sister, gave her his info, and then when I called him he met me to drop it off."

     I guess the bottom line is that all is not lost in the human race.  Maybe our innate state is still selfishness and sin, but I believe we all are instinctively drawn to our Creator, and He has instilled in each of us the capability to respond to situations in righteousness.  Isn't it nice to still have hope?

Psalm 33:7   "Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness."

Reach Out & Touch A Life

     I think we need to close out the week with a little touch of human compassion.  The Good Lord knows that it is sorely lacking these days.  And frankly, after the posts of the last few days, I needed a message that would wash away my pessimism and negative attitude about mankind.
     This sweet story was just the remedy I needed.  The website, The Blaze, reported that Ashley England, and her young son, Riley, were dining at a local pizza parlor in their hometown of China Grove, NC.  That might not seem out of the ordinary, but Riley, aged 8, is a special needs child, and eating out could be a difficult experience for the family, and oftentimes disruptive for fellow patrons.

  “The past few weeks have been very hard and trying for us, especially with public outings,” England said. “Riley was getting loud and hitting the table and I know it was aggravating to some people.”  You can imagine the reactions of most of the customers .... glaring stares, mumbled comments.
     But one customer took it upon himself to ease the discomfort of Riley and his family.  The customer not only paid for the family's meal, but asked their waitress to deliver a message to them.  The waitress approached the family's table, and with tears in her eyes, gave them the note.  Ashley Englund responded with some tears of her own.
     “To have someone do that small act towards us shows that some people absolutely understand what we are going through and how hard it is to face the public sometimes,” she explained, going on to express gratitude for the people who care and understand. “They made me cry, blessed me more than they know — I felt like ...  out of all the rude negative comments that we are faced with — this outweighs them.”

8-year-old Riley

     Here was a person who truly had compassion on his fellow man; someone who, through one small act of kindness, relieved some pain in another's life.  It just goes to show us that we don't have to call attention to ourselves, or make a big display of our kindness and compassion.  Who knows how long that family will bask in the glow of that stranger's sensitivity?  Or how much it affected all the other patrons in the pizza parlor?  Perhaps those who had scowled just moments before, would be forced to look at themselves a little more critically and resolve to be more patient.  And maybe the stranger's anonymous act would be an example for others to carry out similar gestures of kindness.
     It was a small act, and one not likely to be heralded for long.  But I hope the ripple effect of this mysterious man's Christ-like deed will long resonate in the lives of those blessed to witness it.

Ephesians 4:32    "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

Love In Its Purest Form

     Every once in awhile, there is a story that transcends all the ugliness in the world and simply must be told; a story that expresses the purest form of the condition we call "love".  I have not only the story, but a picture that communicates this condition far better than my feeble words.  Here it is:

      This is a photo of John Unger and his dog, Schoep, who in this photo was 19-years-old and suffering from severe arthritic pain.  Schoep (named after a popular Wisconsin brand of ice cream) and John have been together since John rescued the dog as an 8-week-old puppy.  Schoep cowered in the corner of the cage at the animal shelter, and appeared to have suffered some kind of abuse.  John showered him with love and brought the animal out of his despair and despondency; and Schoep would many times, through the years, return the favor.  It was a bond like no other, and so many of us can identify with that spiritual love between man and animal.

     As the years progressed, Schoep developed a painful degenerative arthritis, but John couldn't afford a regimen of daily medication and treatments that cost as much as $200 a session. Instead, he would carry the dog into nearby Lake Superior each evening to ease Schoep's aching joints and help him fall asleep. The buoyancy of the water soothed his arthritic bones. 

     And because John knew that the end was coming quickly for Schoep, he asked a photographer friend of his to snap this one last picture of them together.  The friend posted the photo on her Facebook page and the image went viral, receiving more than 2 million hits in a week!  That's when the donations began pouring in.

     People from around the world wanted to honor the love between John and Schoep, and more than $25,000 was raised.  John then established the Schoep's Legacy Foundation to help low-income families pay for their pet's medical care. "Literally overnight, I went to bed and the next day when the photo went viral, it was a whole new ballgame for me and for Schoep,'' said Unger. "It's still overwhelming for me in a sense. I knew the amount that was coming in would be way over the limit that Schoep was going to need for the rest of his life. I just thought, 'I have to give back.' "

     Schoep was able to receive laser treatments and pain medication that reduced the swelling in his joints and allowed him to take walks, go swimming, and rest more comfortably.  This last year was a Godsend for John and Schoep.  On June 15th, Schoep turned 20 years old, a miraculous feat for the shepherd mix.  Then it came ... John's Facebook post was short and heartfelt ... "I breathe but I can't catch my breath...Schoep passed yesterday."  

     I know that there may be those of you who wonder why I would even comment on this story.  But having known the unconditional love of a companion like Schoep, I felt the desire to honor this special relationship that I think comes straight from God.  The love and trust and joy that an animal bestows on us is the picture of the relationship God desires with us, and that we would have with each other.  No condemnation, wholehearted, unlimited, and unquestioning ... this is the compete picture of love.  For just a moment, we can escape all the division and hatred in the world, and lose ourselves in the sweet, peaceful and tender image of Schoep in John's arms.   I imagine that this is how God loves us.  Rest in peace, Schoep.  You have touched my heart and soul.

1 John 4:16     "So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."

     

Heartwarming Story: Haircuts for Hugs

     Here's a story that you probably haven't heard.  It's one of those that will appear for a 24-36 hour news cycle and be gone.  But The Blaze did it justice and featured it on its news site.  And I figured we could all use a good, positive story.

     Anthony “Joe the Barber” Cymerys has been a fixture every Wednesday for years at Bushnell Park, in Hartford, CT, where he cuts hair and his friends hand out food to the needy.  But shortly after Cymerys set up shop this week, he said, health officials and police confronted him and his friends and told them they had to leave because they didn’t have permits.  But here are the details that add to this story:  Anthony is 82-years-old and has been giving his free haircuts for 25 years! In fact, it was just a year ago that the City honored him for his humanitarian work and he was presented a citation by the Mayor's office.
     But unnamed local residents expressed concerns about the “safety and sanitation” of Cymerys’ free haircuts to homeless people and his friends’ food distribution. They also noted that Cymerys is not a licensed barber.  That's all it took for City health officials to run him out of the park.   Of course, I'm sure these "well-meaning" citizens had no intention of paying themselves so that the homeless could get a haircut or a hot meal.
     But for once, there is a happy ending to the heavy-handedness of over-reaching government officials.  Mayor Pedro Segarra granted Cymerys a special dispensation in light of his years of charitable work.   What's more, the city will help Cymerys obtain a state barber’s license if he likes.
     Anthony learned how to cut hair while he was growing up, and although he isn't a certified barber, he says he always takes health precautions including soaking his trimmers in alcohol.  “Twenty-five years I’ve been giving haircuts, and no one died on me.”   He began giving free haircuts to the homeless in the city around 1988, when he was volunteering at a shelter. He said he met a heroin addict named Arnold who needed a haircut, so he offered his services.

     “I said, ‘Geez, Arnold. Not only are you a bum, you look like a bum. How about I bring in my clippers?’” Cymerys recalled.  A retired businessman, Anthony said his father cut his hair as a child, and he took it up.   “It’s all about inspiring people to do things for the least of our brothers,” he said.
     And that is one of the hallmarks of this country's legacy ....  Inspiring each other to help those in need.  It happens far more often than is reported.  Individuals helping individuals out of the goodness of their hearts and from their own storehouses of wealth; no matter how large or small their bank accounts.  Anthony saw a need and filled it.  He didn't wait for a government agency to take it from one person to give to another.  He lives out the one commandment that our Lord urged above all others, Love your neighbor as yourself.   Well done, Anthony!  Your citation from the city of Hartford is nothing compared to your rewards in Heaven!

1 Timothy 1:5   "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."