^"Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
James 1:26-27, New International Version

I've learned a few things in life.  Not a lot, but a few.  One of the things I've learned is this: when you're feeling down ... when you're experiencing pain ... when you've tied the last knot at the end of your rope ... go help someone else.  Spend some of your time volunteering.  Call a friend that you know is hurting and try to help them through it.  Go visit a retirement center.  Or the children's wing in a hospital.  Do something that has nothing to do with your problems, your issues, or your pain.  I'm pretty good at dwelling on stuff.  If it were an Olympic sport I'd be a shoe-in for at least the silver medal ... maybe gold.  There have been times however when I've been able to do what I'm suggesting that you do.  I've been able to pick myself up enough to go help others.  One of my places of choice is the Volunteers of America.

Our local VOA houses homeless people of all types ... singles, families, Veterans, addicts ... they don't discriminate.  I've been over there about six or seven times in the past two years.  Each time I go I take my guitar ... play a bit ... talk a bit ... play a little bit more.  Each time I've gone, without fail, I didn't want to go.  There was something going on in my life that seemed more important at the time.  But each time I went, I got more out of the night than probably any one.  You see ... it's guaranteed ... you will always reap what you sow.

The first night I went there to sing and minister to the residents, something happened that changed my life.  I was playing a song called "And Then Some" by Eric Durrance.  It's a song the tells the story of a young man thinking of ending his life, until he's approached by a Vietnam Vet who breaks it down for him.  He convinced the kid to keep trying.  The kid eventually ends up volunteering at a homeless shelter.  It's a beautiful song ... one I've played many times.  Halfway through the song, a young girl sitting on the floor in the back of the room got up, and walked out of the room crying.  I had no idea what was going on with her.  After I was done for the night, an employee of the VOA brought the girl up to meet me.  Her name is Robin.  The night I was there happened to be the three year anniversary of her mother dying.  Well ... she was actually killed ... by her husband, Robin's father.  If that wasn't bad enough, her dad made her watch as he killed her mother.  I don't how someone would move on from that kind of an experience ... I really don't.  Robin ran away, and ended up at the VOA.  That same night ... the anniversary of her mother being murdered by her father ... the night I happen to show up to sing a few songs ... was the night that Robin planned on ending her own life.  Halfway through an obscure country song being sung by a 'regular Joe' from Lansing, Michigan, she changed her mind.  Really?  It was very hard for me to believe that I caused her to change her mind ... or at the very least, a song that I was singing caused her to change her mind ... but it did.  Once again God used the unusable to do His work.

I'm not a big fan of the word 'religion', but that's the word that James chose to use in the verses above.  Do you want to do something that will please God?  Do you want to put your money where your Christian mouth is?  Go help the needy.  Go pray for an orphan.  Go love the unlovable.  Just go do something that will take your eyes off of you.  And yes, I know ... as in I KNOW ... that it's so much easier to say it than it is to do it.  I live it every day.  However, the day's where I've been able to muster up the energy to get beyond myself ... well ... it never fails ... God shows up.


The link directly below is to a song I wrote the day after that night I first sang at the VOA.  I hope you take a minute to listen to it.  The second link is a recording I did of "And Then Some."  I hope you'll listen to that as well.  Thank you to Eric and Rachel for helping out with the recordings.

God bless you, and good night.

"The VOA Song" written by Joe Wright, copyright 2009

"And Then Some" as performed by Eric Durrance, written by three Vietnam Veterans.
(I do not own a copyright to this song)