Coming from The Blind Side

This acclaimed movie of Sandra Bullock (which won for her an Oscar award for her role as Mrs. Tuohy), is a heartful awe-inspiring true story of Michael Oher who is now an NFL star with the Baltimore Ravens.

Michael, who came from a troubled childhood whose mother during her drug-laden years has borne a number of children from a number of nameless fathers. They lived in a Memphis area where thugs and drugs are a daily sight. And when he was just kid when the social service people decided to take him away from his drug-dependent mother and led to numerous foster-institutions. He grew up with a purposeless, confused and untrusting demeanor until the Tuohy’s showed him kindness and showered him with support that he longed to have since childhood. Not only did he remarkably improved his GPA from 0.6 to 2.52 by the end of his senior year but he also grew up to be a loving and a very protective person who enjoys and love the warm friendship of belonging to a real family.

In the same movie, he also have a good friend with excellent athletic skill as well and yet with nobody taking notice of him, he inadvertently made the choice to stay with their neighborhood gangs. He subsequently died from gun-shot wounds inflicted during a gang-war.

Clearly these kids’ contrasting lives were immensely influenced by the shown kindness of the people around them.

Some of us will argue that the Tuohy’s are exceptional in this case because they are rich and can afford to adopt and care for Michael. But the simple truth is, kindness does not only spring out when a person is able or wealthy. Kindness, no matter how small and simple, affects other people profoundly.

I remember a few years ago when we visited Hongkong and, from the subway train station, we were not able to find an elevator to bring us up to the main road. I was carrying 1 back-pack, 1 big luggage bag, and our son’s stroller so you can just imagine how I struggled to walk up the stairs. My wife who was carrying our then 2 year-old son went up ahead to avoid the throngs of rushing people. A lot of people simply passed me by. Some even just looked curiously and thought how flimsy-looking I was with all those sweats and luggages. “Well”, I said to myself that time,”no wonder the Hongkong government runs media advertisements urging the Hongkong people to be kind and helpful to others because they are just too busy and fast-paced to pause and lend a helping hand to anyone in need.”

I was mid-way through the staircase when suddenly the stroller behind me became lighter. I looked back and I saw this beautiful and smiling caucasian lady with her her friend lifting up the back side of the stroller. What a relief it was and I was so grateful to her when we reached the top. She smiled back and they went their way.

In an instant, my mood changed from exasperation and disappointment to gratitude and joy because of that simple kind act of a stranger.

It reinforced my belief that there are still a lot of kind people to make this world of ours a beautiful place to live.

Whether they are in the office or workplace, in the community, in the church, walking along the road, in the bus waiting area, and just about everywhere, they are naturally on the look-out to come to anybody who needs assistance and help.

Now we must ask ourselves this question – Am I one of them?

Thank you and God bless.

Fresh

My wife, a few months ago, bought Zek a pair of gold fish in a small glass bowl. Unfortunately, after a few weeks one of the pair died and the last one, Dorothy (Zek named her after Elmo's per fish) has been living by herself. My wife would occasionally hear Zek talk to Dorothy and give her food but the regular water replenishment was tasked unto me.

One day I was shocked to see Dorothy belly-side up and gasping for her dear breath. I remembered giving her some pieces of bread the previous night which she partook in an instant. Unknowingly, this kind of bread quickly dissolved in her small bowl and intoxicating the little supply of water she has. She looked like a goner to me but I tried to warm-up a fresh quart of water and replace it, hoping that Dorothy can still come out from her dire condition.

Amazingly, she did. After hours of dipsy-diving in her clean water, she was up and swimming in slow motion. Another cycle of clean water the next day and she is back to total normalcy.

In Christian living, whenever we commit sin, it is like ingesting a life-threatening poison that slowly affects our whole being. Though the instant sensation for us is happiness and self-gratification, the underlying consequences are guilt, unhappiness and restlessness. And without resorting to the only spiritually effective medication, the inevitable destination for us is long-term spiritual affliction that quickly degenerates to isolation from God's love and eventual self-destruction. We will choke on our own terms.

But the Lord's mercy knows no end if we open our hearts to true repentance. This is the reason why He instituted the sacrament of reconciliation for us to avail of His life-giving and love-replenishing forgiveness. When participated in with piety and zealousness, we will experience the most invigorating and refreshing spirit within us.

Dear friends, go ahead.
Confess your sins.
Be re-freshed.

May the Lord's peace be with us all.