helpless?

I'll admit it, I've felt pretty helpless more than once in my life.  There's times when I wish I could open my Mac and it had a help button to get me through decisions and the things that I'm not sure are going to work out.  

I can remember being 9 years old and riding my bike down a long steep hill, at the bottom of the hill were 2 choices (because stopping isn't a choice to a 9 year old boy of course) 1) keep going straight into the busiest road in Jackson, TN; 0r 2) turn right at the bottom of the hill.  I chose number 2 of course but there was no way I was making the turn, so instead of washing out or making it, I hit the curb going very fast causing me to flip over and over ultimately landing on my face.  I bloodied my nose, bent up my bike, hurt my pride, but I was otherwise ok.  

I remember when I was 12, my best friends mom was murdered.  She was straight up shot in the head while she was in bed.  He called me when he found out crying, saying his mom was dead, his mom was dead, that she was shot.  Like any good friend, at first I didn't believe him, but it didn't take long for me to realize he wasn't playing.  Now what does a 7th grader do, sitting in his room on the phone with his best friend on the other line crying uncontrollably about his murdered mom?  I remember sitting there listening to him sob and sob and sob and sob for about an hour.  Every so often I'd say, 'I'm so sorry,' but I  was helpless and he was my best friend.  There was nothing I could say or nothing I could do, but sit there...sit there with him on the phone. 

So many times people see something and it hurts them, or their hearts are in line with God's heart and the very thing that hurts God also hurts them.  But most choose to do...nothing.  

I've thought often about that night on the phone with my best friend for the last 20 years, and I realize I did about the only thing I could have at the time.  That was listen and being there, and don't get me wrong and think that I was some super mature Christ-loving kid at that time because my life was anything but Christ-loving until I was about 20.  The only reason I stayed with him was because I simply didn't know what else to do, and he needed someone to be there. I guess I should have made my parents take me to his house, I guess I should have had him come over, but I just listened.

Do you have those situations?  Do you look out at this world and become pained by the things you see, the people you come in contact with?  Is it enough to hurt for them and do nothing?  I don't think it is enough.  

We are called to do something, to live outside of our own little houses with leaky roofs, we are called to try, even if we don't know what to do.  Sometimes us just being there is enough to start with, sometimes the situation calls for more.  

But I just don't want to go through my life working without reaching out to others, without bringing the Remedy to those who are hurt.  Even if we don't have the words, even if we don't know what to do, simply try.