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I was talking to a group of women in my community and the topic was brought up about how, “God never gives you more than you can handle.” I got to thinking what on earth does that mean? I don’t believe that for one bit! It struck me as very naive` and a great way to keep yourself from active action to change or serve those in need in our community. What about the people who find themselves on the other end of a gun in their own hands-is that considered more than one can handle? What about children who are so tormented in public school that they snap and go off and shoot & kill people. Is that being given more than can be handled? What about the people who can’t fit in with the guidelines of societal standards and find themselves in jail , insane, profiting from illicit means or worse? It is this Pollyannaic thinking that ‘oh, everything happens for a reason and hopefully we learn from our mistakes’, that discounts the human frailty. What about the person who gets their life snuffed out by a reckless drunk driver? We already know that one puts life at risk when drinking & driving. Why does it take that person killing someone to make them stop doing destructive behaviors and have the reverence for life that was intended before they take an innocent life?

Life is. Life is impersonal. Life is chaos. We all know about being at the right place at the right time (or the wrong!). It is that which makes us essentially human that makes us contrive something from nothing (or everything) or make sense from the chaos. That which we would like to think is divine intervention, fate or destiny is merely a sort of crippled coping mechanism to the forces that we have no control over. Taking the responsibility for our free will also has an accountability factor that is often overlooked. If everything happens for a reason then we can quell our impulse to help hungry people in our community because well, by golly, God won’t give them anymore than they can handle, right? If everything happens for a reason we can rationalize away the needs, the cries, the sorrow and the lack all around us. I think the true context of “God never gives you more than you can handle,’ is that we are to find our niche` in society, our place to serve, in whatever way is our unique gift, and give it all we got with all the heart and love and sweat and determination you would give anything you want to thrive. I’m reminded of the woman who wanted to help the hungry children in her community. Everyday children came to her door begging for food because they were so impoverished they went hungry. She wasn’t a woman of means by any means, but she could afford a couple extra loaves bread a week and some jelly & peanut butter. She began making peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the kids. Soon the word spread that this woman was giving out PB & J sandwiches and dozens of kids were coming to her door, the numbers growing each day. She made more and more sandwiches and fed the kids that were hungry in her community. I can tell you, those kids were changed by her thoughtfulness, kindness and compassion. It’s the little things like that, that transforms neighborhoods into communities. A gift so simple, so meaningful and so basic. She is an inspiration to me.

Be inspired, take something on. Get out of your comfort zone. Help someone in need. Let your freewill be someone else’s lifeline. You never know when your unique kindness will help someone bend a little further and keep from breaking. We can do no great things. Only little things with great love.