THURSDAY THOUGHTS - A Willingness To Make A Difference

Guest Post:

One of my favorite authors, Rachel Naomi Remen, MD says, "Most of us lead far more meaningful lives than we know."  I have seen countless examples of this in the past week and I want to share some of them.  Last Friday night, Ron and I went to watch my son, Matt, play Sober Softball.  This was our first time attending a game even though he has played in this league for quite some time.  It was a perfect evening and we enjoyed the drive to Sandy... The Quarry Fields, to be exact.  We arrived, camping chairs and Coke Zero in hand, and set up our spot right by Kacee, Matt's wife, who had dutifully brought munchies for everyone.  There were two games, one at 7:00 and another at 8:00.  I found myself yelling, "Go, go Mattie Mo!!!!"  Just like I did for years when he was a little boy.  He shot me an amused glance and we both chuckled.  I have always been one to cheer loudly at ballgames when my kids are playing.  Matt's team got beat at 7pm and then slaughtered at 8pm.  As we were getting ready to leave he said, "Mom... I am sorry you had to see this!"  I jokingly replied, "Just don't say I never do anything for you!"  He then gave me his traditional lip to lip kiss and we left.

Despite the losses, I noticed a lot of love and support between the A.A. members.  There was humor, a sense of teamwork, and a lot of concern one for another.  This support is one of the reasons Mattie reached his nine year sober birthday in January of this year.  One member, a lawyer, arrived late to the game.  One of the players said to him, "I know the kind of day you had at work today, and I am really glad you are here."  They are not aware that I heard this exchange, but it illustrates perfectly the magic that exists in the A.A. program.  I have attended several of their open meetings and I feel it every time I go.  They are united in their commitment to sobriety.  They all went out to dinner, but Ron and me (the older generation) opted for couch time at home... blissful!

The next morning, we met early in our church parking lot for a day of service.  After donuts and milk, we all separated to our assigned spots to help with projects that had been planned well in advance.  There were rain gutters to be cleaned, patios to repair and lots of Spring yard work to be done.  We also took some of the Primary children to sing to those we knew were homebound.  In this case, we were all united and working together to serve one another and take care of some things that people could not do for themselves.  It made us feel happy inside, and Ron got so motivated that he came home and cleaned our own rain gutters!

Our own Lifting Hearts is another service organization which stands united to help women through their journeys with cancer.  It has been inspiring to watch so many women working together to support each other through surgeries, chemo therapy, radiation treatments, and breast reconstruction.

In each of these scenarios, people are working together for a specific purpose; they are united in their goals and aspirations; they are stronger as a group than they are as individuals, and in most cases they are making more of a difference than they think.  Dr. Remen also states: "Perhaps a willingness to face such shared vulnerability gives us the capability to repair the world.  Those who find the courage to share a common humanity may find that they can bless anyone anywhere."  I think she is right.

-Kathy Christensen
Survivor
Member, Lifting Hearts