Before I forget ... after Matt read my post about "it's not easy being green," he asked, "Did you really put on a neighbor-stalking disguise?" What does that say about me? That my husband thinks I would really have some awesome disguise just for stalking neighbors? If I did, it would definitely involve a cape and a 1940s hat. But in case you were wondering like my dear and darling husband, NO I did not really wear a disguise. (And for the record, I don't make it a habit of stalking neighbors. The ice cream truck maybe ... neighbors, no.)
And now on to the post. On St. Paddy's Day (Matt corrected me for putting "Patty" in a previous post. Apparently, it's supposed to be written as "St. Paddy's Day" if you're shortening the Patrick part.), we went to the discount movie theater in Charlotte. Just $2 each to get in! We watched "The Blind Side" and both thought it was great movie.
If you're not familiar with the movie, it features Michael Oher, who currently plays for the Baltimore Ravens. The movie focuses on his rough upbringing and how an affluent family (The Tuohys) takes him in during his late teens and includes him as part of the family while he attends an all-white private Christian school. Michael becomes an amazing football player and goes on to earn a scholarship to play at Ole Miss before being drafted by the Ravens.
Movies like these always touch my heart, as I would assume they do for most people. On the drive home from the theater, I was thinking about what the Tuohys did for Michael. I even remarked to Matt how, if it had been me, I too would have asked, "do you think he'll steal anything?" as Mrs. Tuohy did the first night Michael stayed at their house. Here is a family that has so much (Michael ruined the "$10,000 couch" after all), and on the other spectrum, here is a boy who has to secretly add his only spare shirt to the washing machine of a lady at the laundry mat when she's not looking.
"Do you think he'll steal anything?" That question stays with me. Are we as humans so focused on how we can be wronged that we miss a perfect opportunity to be a light in the darkness for someone else? Matt can tell you - if there is one thing I can't stand, it's to be wronged. One of my greatest short comings is that I hold grudges. I hold them so tight. The other night when I was complaining about a particular instance where I felt wronged while we were out, Matt asked me, "are you going to let this bother you all night?" The truth is, I probably did let it bother me the rest of the night.
But how would life be for us if we weren't so afraid of being wronged, of having someone treat us less than we desire? How many more times would we have helped someone in need? What if the Tuohy family had never helped Michael? We would have never heard his name, much less be able to watch him play football. It amazes me that one person's heart and willingness to help others changed the course of another man's life forever.
As I have been jobless since Matt and I married, I have thought to myself, "it will be nice to help other people once I am working again." That's completely the wrong attitude. Yes, the Tuohy family was financially well-off enough to help Michael in a substantial way, but helping others doesn't always have to be a financial thing.
Sometimes you never know what kind of difference you can make in someone's life. When I was in fourth grade, I was in a class made up of fifth graders and fourth graders. The fifth graders were too cool for us little fourth graders, of course, and there were about seven fourth grade girls in the class. One girl in particular was a major bully and tried to make the other girls not like me and another girl in our class. I would go home crying so many times. It was misery for me as a nine year old. And yet, there was one girl in the class named Jacqueline who some how managed to stay friends with all of the girls. She remained partial and was a light in the darkness for me. That year affected me much more than I realized at the time. Even though their cruel words negatively impacted and affected my self image for many years afterward, now when I think back to that time, their words have left my memory but I still remember Jacqueline's sweet friendship. All it took was the kind heart of a fourth grader to make me not feel completely alone. And 17 years later, when I see Jacqueline on facebook, I always think of the difference she made in my life so long ago.
When we feel like we aren't at a point in our life when we can help someone, we need to just open our eyes up more to see what's around us and search for little ways to help. When we feel too insignificant, we need to reach out to those who feel more insignificant than we do. They're out there. Trust me. When we're afraid of being taken advantage by someone by having a willing heart, we need to learn to let go of that fear. I'm going to start looking for those small ways I can help others more. I hope you will too.
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