FDLIC Corporate Officers blog about current issues in the preneed industry and in funeral service, providing insight, commentary, and news updates.
Keeping an Open Heart about a Polar Plunge
Monday, January 18, 2010
In a few days, I'll be going to Minnesota as a camp counselor for Hearts of Hope camps. Hearts of Hope is a camp for grieving kids who have lost someone they love, and getting to go on these trips is one of the highlights of my job. I must admit, though, that I have mixed feelings about this trip in particular. On the one hand, I'll be playing with kids and showing them in whatever way I can that they're not alone. On the other hand, it's Minnesota. In January. And they're making us do the Polar Ice Plunge. I'm definitely not looking forward to that.
But honestly, painful as it will be, being dunked in icy cold, arctic Minnesotan water is beside the point. The kids I'll meet on my trip have got me thinking about what it truly means to be a "Helper of People."
The very fact that this camp exists makes me grateful for the people who stopped to care long enough to do something about a need when they saw it. This is a free camp, and every year, I see that these children really do leave with a renewed sense of hope. They may arrive uncertain--not knowing a soul, and carrying a burden far too heavy for their little shoulders. But they leave knowing there are others out there who, like them, have lost a mother, a father, a brother, sister, or friend. They're not strange, different, or alone.
It reminds me that the need for a kinder, gentler world is great: one that has open ears and open hearts; one that would wipe away tears and help someone who is hurting sooner rather than later. And that's what being "Helpers of People" is all about. It's about keeping your heart tender enough to see the suffering before you so that you can do something about it.
Jesus gave us the example of the Good Samaritan to live by. The Good Samaritan wasn't out there on the lookout for a good deed to do. He was just walking down a road and happened to meet someone who needed him. That was all.
I'm reminded of the saying, "They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." We're in a caring profession, and perhaps that makes it harder at times to keep our hearts open and sensitive. We might tend to want to grow protective skin over our hearts so that the pain we see can't hurt us.
Like the Good Samaritan, maybe the key to staying aware and compassionate is realizing that we don't have to do it all. We do what we can, we help the one in front of us, and that is enough. If you remember the film "Pay It Forward," you'll remember that one simple act of kindness has the potential to change everything.
Though I'm not excited about the Polar Ice Plunge, I do want these kids to be able to keep coming to camp year after year. Visit http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Fdlic-Will-Be-Taking-The-Polar-Ice-Plunge-In-January-In-Minnesota if you feel led to give to Hearts of Hope. Our deadline to raise funds is January 22nd, so if you're interested, go ahead and do what your heart is telling you to do.