I Feel Sad

          I hadn't seen my homeless friend in about a year. I smiled when he came in to the Youth Center. He stuck out his hand to give me a handshake and I pushed it away and gave him a hug. I was happy that he came back. Our reunion didn't last very long.

          He first starting coming to our Youth Center around dinner time. His demeanor was rather gruff and demanding. He would almost growl when he asked when the food would be ready. We served our food smorgasbord style and my friend would be first in line. That became an issue with the young people. Homeless folks can sometimes have an odor that can be pretty strong. He smelled like most homeless folks do. Their clothes are dirty and they lack the necessary items of personal hygiene. We serve a smorgasbord style meal for our snack and dinner. The kids did not want to stand anywhere near someone who had an odor. They did not want to touch the food after he had filled his plate. His hands were clean but they perceived him as a dirty person who could contaminate the food. They gave this homeless man plenty of space. They created space through avoidance. They created space through lack of understanding and compassion. They created segregation between themselves and a person who was hurting.

          We began seeking a solution about the unwelcome space of segregation in the food line. At a Food Bank of WNY Seminar, we received some very valuable advice: "Have the homeless man sit down and let the kids serve him." It was an awesome idea and closed the gap between the young people and the homeless dude. When in doubt; seek a compassionate solution.

          I had asked my friend what his dream was. He said he wanted to work on a farm. He liked to paint. I also asked him what his birthday was. He said it was August 8. I marked that date down in my phone. We always have birthday cakes that are donated from a local supermarket in our freezer. His birthday was on a weekend when we were closed at the Center. I grabbed a cake and drove around looking for him. I never did find him.

          A few weeks later he showed up once again at dinner time. His demeanor was the same, demanding to know when dinner would be ready. I told him about the cake and how I'd gone looking for him. All of a sudden his whole countenance changed. He brightened up knowing that somebody had remembered his birthday. He started asking if he could help us. He wanted to know how he could help. We gave him his cake after dinner and he left. I think I may even have seen a smile. that was the last I saw of him until this week.

          He asked me to help him get a roof over his head for the night. I took him to a shelter and told him that I would pick him up at 9am the next morning. I was there exactly at 9am. The lady inside said she was worried about him. She said he looked very sad and that he had left 10 minutes earlier. I went looking for him and never found him. That happened on Friday. I woke up at 4am this morning and prayed for him. He's still on my heart now. He will always stay in my heart.

          So why is a sad story a bright spot? Because a homeless man brightened my day. I was able to witness first hand the power of remembering a birthday. I learned how to serve a homeless person with compassion. I miss my friend and I will continue to pray for him. I hope you will pray for him too.

Thanks for your time. 
Go do something nice for somebody.
JLYASDW

The Preacher Lost His Congregation

          The Preacher preached until no one was left.
As the congregation sat down for the early morning service,
the preacher dude turned his back on them.
He began to preach about the needs of the city.
Doors opened in front of the preacher revealing the city.

          As he preached a need,
several of the congregants would get up and walk past him toward the city. Eventually the preacher had covered all of the city gates and their needs.
Most of the folks understood the needs of the city and
walked past the preacher to go and help people in need.

          Some folks were miffed.
They had come to hear the preacher talk to them.
He didn't even face them,
he looked at the city and it's needs the whole time.
They got up and walked out the same doors
 of the church that they had entered.

          Eventually the church was empty, the preacher was alone.
All of the congregants had left him -
some went toward the need
 others left looking for feed.

          The preacher became a follower:
he followed the others toward the needs.

Thanks for your time.
Go do something nice for somebody.
JLYASDW

A Bright Sin Spot

          As a child, I was taught to go to confession and tell a priest my sins. My friends and I would stand in a school hallway discussing our "sins." We would make up the sins and how many times we committed them. It sounded like this: "What did you do?" "Well I disobeyed my parents 4 times. I lied 3 times. I stole once and I said a dirty word (I said fart on a Sunday!)." It became a game of making up sin just so we would have something to say when we got into the wooden box with the priest behind the curtain.

          The priest would then give us some penance. It would be something like 3 "Our Father's," 4 "Hail Mary's," and 3 "Glory Be's." We heard that one really sinful kid had to say the whole Rosary! We understood penance as being prayers you would say to get rid of your sin. Our next assignment in sin removal would be to say those prayers. Then it was over and we didn't discuss sin until our next rendezvous before confession.

          Focusing on sin does not remove sin. It's a no-brainer to realize that we all have sinned. There isn't a human being dead or alive who has not done something with a dark character streak. Adding up our sins only causes a coagulation and clotting of darkness. If you sit in a dark room and focus on the darkness, you will not remove the darkness. Your gloomy heart will remain sullen until you introduce some light into your soul.

          There is a light switch for your soul called Christ. He designed a way of truth that reveals a new life. The Cross of Christ was first planted on a hill called Golgotha.  That hill was a nasty place filled with murderers, mockers, torturers, liars, thieves, hypocrites and cheats. Yeah, sinner folks galore with every type of dark sin you could imagine. Most folks have their own definition of sin and they use it to define other folks. Every definition of every kind of sin was present on that hill called Golgotha. It was the darkest place ever assembled until light was introduced.

          Death as we know it represents the final frontier - the place of no return. Viewing life with only a physical understanding presents limitations. Our world is full of examples of the appearance of death followed by new life: The four Seasons are a constant cycle of death and rebirth. A kernel of wheat has to fall to the ground and die before it is born again. Forgiveness lets resentment die and replaces it with a new life of grace. Park Rangers use a controlled burn to destroy old growth and make room for new life in a forest. Introducing light into your darkness will cause new life to grow within you.

          You don't have to pack your bag full of dirty character, fling it over your shoulder and drag your darkness through life. Just get up and go turn a light switch on. The light switch is connected to a current of grace that causes light to eliminate your darkness. Focus on the light. The coolest part of focusing on the light is that you become unaware of the darkness. The light becomes so inviting that you stop allowing darkness to exist. Even when you trip and fall back into the darkness, the light switch is always within reach. Eventually the light permeates every area of your life.

          Death on the Cross was followed by new life. As the grave stone was rolled away, Christ became a light switch that lights your present path as well as your journey into the final frontier of eternity. Just before he died. one of the last words that Christ uttered through tortured lips was: "Forgive." That word became a seed that died and fell into the ground before it came back to life as forgiveness for you and for me.

          Would you like light in your life? Start with that seed-word of forgiveness. Plant it today in some dark soil. Just believe that hope will water it and faith will shine upon it as it grows into new light in your life. Go and forgive your neighbor. Thanks for your time. Go do something nice for somebody. JLYASDW

Darkness becomes light through forgiveness.

The Value of Children

     This is a Bright Spot Report with some dark spots. Please treat them as seeds. Under the dirt, in a dark lonely place, there are seeds buried in bleakness. They will grow. Ideas will grow. Perseverance and commitment are the sun and rain that nourish the unseen seeds of potential in children.

Some children grow like trees.

Some children fall like leaves.

The Value of Children

     

      As a Youth Director in a violent and impoverished city, I've noticed a few things. Chief among them is the segregation of fairness and opportunity.
 

     The privileged "halo children" who always seem to get good grades effortlessly appear as tomorrow's sunrise in the eyes of society. Scores of children are labeled as "future failures" and become poster children for a disease called "recidivism. The value of many children has been taken from them and stashed away out of sight. Children are living behind barbed wire halos, encased in a crypt of concrete adorned with steel bars.

      I watch teenagers go to jail in large numbers. Many are sentenced by men and women wearing robes of haughtiness, lacking compassion. They don't have a clue what it's like to struggle through school, poverty or violence. The few who have had a glimpse of struggle seemed to have lost their compassion via an inflated life status. They act as if punishment instead of education is a deterrent to a life of crime. The rate of recidivism would suggest otherwise. Many young people sit behind bars for years while their cases are continually adjourned or postponed. They languish in a hopeless neighborhood of cells filled with hopeless neighbors. Public Defenders rarely visit or return phone calls. Their client is just another number in a jumpsuit.

      I listen to people complain about the cost of educating a child when the cost of incarceration is more than double the cost of education. Money is not really the issue, there is plenty of it. The flow of money is in the direction of the power brokers who want to make more money, whatever the cost.

      The answer is in the compassionate expenditure of money. Children are devalued by the focus of society. If we spend most of our funds on intervention instead of prevention, does that reflect compassion? Money should flow where your heart is. Where is your heart?

      The goal of Youth With A Purpose Inc. and Mentor Force is to identify a Mentor for every child in the Buffalo Schools. We are partners with Teachers and Parents. Through a united front and a repetitive message, all children will have a Mentor. We will operate an after school/community outreach program with athletic and education facilities. We will Mentor students in the classroom. We will Mentor students after school. We will teach people how to be Mentors and Coaches.

      Every child is gifted and valuable.
     Every child deserves the right to go to college.
     Every child is capable of becoming a disciplined employee.
     Every child is entrepreneurial and motivated.

Thanks for your time.
Go do something nice for somebody.
JLYASDW