Change One Life Now, Change Thousands in the Future

“We can identify problems all our life, but that isn’t enough. We must do something about them!”
- Quinn Heder

Change one Life Today so you can Change Thousands in the Future

Last night I went with my wife and one of my daughters to have dinner at Alpine Academy. I expect you haven’t heard about Alpine Academy or Utah Youth Village, but they’ve been on my mind a great deal as of late. That’s because I’ve been thinking about the growing importance of mercy in our world today.

My friend Janette Thompson and her friend Erin act as “parents,” for Alpine Academy. They’re parents for ten teen-aged girls and they live in a large family home almost right across the street from me. Alpine Academy provides a chance for the girls to learn how a family works and grow from experiencing a functioning family. So when we were invited to come over for dinner, it wasn’t just any dinner. It was to a family dinner and a great opportunity for us to get to know each other; family to family and person to person.

Meeting with other people so you can get to know them is almost a lost art these days. I was reminded of this yesterday as I was shopping in Costco. I passed person after person with headphones in their ears. Talk about a large “Don’t talk to me” sign on the forehead. It’s hard to get to know someone who doesn’t want to hear a word you have to say!

But, that wasn’t the case last night! How nice it was to sit with neighbors who really wanted to just sit and talk. And talk we did!

We talked about each person there. We learned about each one; where they were from and what their hopes are for the future.

Because of their attendance at Alpine Academy each girl has a brighter future. I was most touched when Julia, a girl from the Atlanta area, gave us a tour and then stopped at a picture of Lila Bjorklund, founder of Alpine Academy.

Julia told us that Lila started Utah Youth Village and managed it without pay for more than 25 years. Then she said, “Grandma Lila believed that if you changed one girl now, you could change thousands in the future.”

For Lila, it was not enough to be concerned about troubled children - she put a roof over their heads and taught them responsible behavior.

It was not enough to found a program for troubled girls - she also managed it, 40 - 50 hours a week, without financial compensation, for over 25 years.

It was not enough to build one group home - she built four.

It was not enough to build four group homes - she opened 40 foster homes to care for younger victims of abuse and neglect.

It was not enough to provide a safe home for over 200 children a year - she instituted a program to teach their parents to help them, so they could remain with their families, and together they could heal and learn to live with mutual respect and caring.

With Lila, as long as there were troubled children, she could never do enough.

“Can I ever do enough?” I asked my friend Quinn Heder today. We were talking about life and what it means to have faith.

He asked me what I thought having faith meant.

“When my mind tells me one thing and I feel inside that things are going to be alright anyway,” I said.

One can believe things are going to be alright in the future as much as they want, but without doing something about it nothing is going to change we concluded.

So, I’m looking in the mirror a lot these days asking myself one question.

Am I showing enough mercy to everyone around me?

Then I think, “I must become the kind of person that looks at everyone around me and says, yes I know you’ve made mistakes. I have too! It’s o.k., I love you anyway. Let me give you a hand up so we can share happy lives together.”

I feel honored to be able to look across the street and see what Lila Bjorklund was able to create with the help of lots of other good hearted people! I feel comfort in the fact that girls across my own road are changing so they can change the lives of thousands to come. I feel humbled to know that there are many small things I can do to help them along their way.

You can help too. If you would like to become part of changing lives use this link: http://www.youthvillage.org/donate.php or, you can contact me and I’ll be able to talk with you about helping.

It isn’t enough to just see the problems around us anymore. Won’t you join me and work to change the lives of thousands in the future?

The Gift of Good Neighbors

“We saw a puff of dust so we knew something was wrong. Then we saw you running like a streak so we came over to help.”
- George & Carolyn Showell

The Gift of Good Neighbors

The darkness enveloped me as I began to stir. A new day was beginning and I knew just what I was going to do. Even though it was dark and the cold seemed to seize my muscles, I kept moving because the thought of the sun peaking above the mountain motivated me.

Small ice crystals covered the grass and I watched them begin to glisten just before they vanished in the emerging dawn. The world was beginning to awaken and I was about to blast it awake with the noise of machinery.

I have a lot of grass to mow. This week I had even more than usual amount of grass to mow because the grass in my pasture was getting too deep; too deep even for the horses to eat, so I was going to cut it. Besides, if it didn’t get cut it would soon begin to go dormant so I acted.

“It’s a good thing my neighbors aren’t real close,” I thought. If I lived in the city my neighbors would certainly be unhappy with the roar of an engine at 6:30 a.m. But here, rather than thinking a lawn tractor had climbed into bed with them, they would merely hear a slight noise. At least, that’s what I was hoping as I backed out of the garage to begin my slashing.

About two hours later the engine sputtered slightly and then died immediately. I had mowed a little more than half the field the night before and hadn’t refilled the gas tank, so I knew I was out of gas. I got off the tractor, walked to its back and peered at the fuel level stripes on the outside of the tank. Yes indeed. I was out of gas with only one pass left!

The horses surrounded me and began to take in deep breaths as they inhaled. They are curious animals and this was their chance to check me and my machine out without noise and continuous movement. I walked past them to the garage, grabbed hold of the heavy gas canister and lifted it back past the horses. Then I unscrewed the cap and watched the rainbow colored fuel be gulped up by the machine.

I lifted the half empty can on to my lap and turned the key. My first attempt to start the engine failed, but the second one didn’t. I began to cut my last bit of grass as I drove toward the open gate. Once through the gate I hesitated briefly. I remember thinking, “I should shut this gate.”

However, I could see the garage not far away and I really didn’t want to stop and have to lift the canister up two more times when it wasn’t necessary, so I drove on. I have left the gate down lots of times and the horses just stay in the pasture. Why wouldn’t they, the grass was plentiful and it was their home.

I got to the garage, turned off the machine and put the gas can down. I turned around and watched the horses pass through the gate. Fear gripped my heart because when I was a child one of my horses got out onto the highway and was hit by a car. That scene, from so many years ago, was freshened and alive in my mind now. I was hoping I could simply herd them the few feet back into the safety of the pasture.

It was not to be. When I approached them they bolted out to the street!

As it turns out my friend Clayton Dunn was driving past. He stopped and asked if he could help.

I said yes!

We tried to herd them, but they were uncooperative.

Then my next door neighbors came out. The entire family! They began to spread out so we could create a human net.

As we started, a reddish car pulled up. It was the Showells from across the neighborhood. They pulled over, got out of their car and became links to the huge net we had created to surround the frightened horses.

Within moments we had the horses moving toward home. We all ran a little. We all pushed with our voices a little. We were successful. I latched the gate and thanked everyone from the bottom of my heart!

The Gearos simply said, “You’ve done it for us before.”

Clayton simply said, “You’re welcome,” and resumed his drive to work.

The Showells stayed and talked with me for a minute and told me of how they had been watching me. (They live a mile and a half away.) They said, “We saw a puff of dust so we knew something was wrong. Then we saw you running like a streak so we came over to help.”
And, help they all did!

It is one thing to live next door or near someone else. It’s another to be a neighbor! My neighbors have demonstrated the difference to me over and over again. They are important to me and I treasure them. I can only hope to be a great neighbor to them in return.

Do you remember when it was common to go to a neighbor to borrow a cup of sugar or milk? Do you remember when we knew all of our neighbors? Do you remember when being a neighbor made you want to feel watchful and caring?

To have a great life, be a great neighbor. Of all the titles I have aspired to, the title of neighbor is one of the most valuable and important. Be a good neighbor; become a great friend and you’ll find true wealth, importance and joy beyond measure!