Lean on me ~ a song of hope

WHATS IN THIS BLOG:
Video of the song Lean On Me (3 mins).
• We all need hope.
• Hope can come to us from other people.
• We can do something tangible to help another person.
• Hot new kind of jewelry

Just to clarify: each of my blogs centers on one of three categories: (1) Inspiration and Hope, or (2) Science and Energy, or (3) Health and Hiking. Probably too broad a spectrum, but I can’t decide how to narrow it down. Any suggestions? This particular blog is about hope.

An old song popped up the other day, and it’s one of my favorites….. Lean On Me by Bill Withers, whose group was called Soul Train (vintage 1970). Further down you can click to play the song.

Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow

THE ABOVE VERSE IS ABOUT THE HUMAN CONDITION, which is pockmarked by pain and suffering.

For example:

A few nights ago I attended the fortnightly dance. Between dances a man lamented that his back was hurting, and it hurt all the time, due to an inoperable cyst.

A lady who was classily dressed revealed her mom and her grand-daughter had passed away since we had last danced a couple years ago.

The verse finishes with a hint of hope: the sun will shine again…..tomorrow. But where does hope spring from?

Bill Withers, who wrote the song Lean On Me (click to source).

If there is a load you have to bear
That you can’t carry
I’m right up the road
I’ll share your load
If you just call me

THIS VERSE IS ABOUT A RESOURCE FOR HOPE IN THE FORM OF ANOTHER HUMAN…… maybe a family member, a buddy, a neighbor, a church member, a stranger.

I know a young woman who is handicapped, and cannot drive a car. She needs a car that has hand-controls installed. Lean on me.

It’s a classic dilemma: she can’t get a job without being able to drive (no bus routes near where she lives). But she can’t pay for a car until she gets a job.

Last week, a friend I know gave her a significant donation which will go a long way toward the cost of a car, and other friends are contributing also. Lean on me.

“This is huge for me,” she said. “I’ve been trapped, but this will open up all sorts of job opportunities.”

But wait….how does this work with a stranger? A stranger might help me?? YES! I could help a stranger?? YES! A complete stranger that I was able to help is described in another blog (click here to read).

THEOLOGY AND BIBLE STUDIES AND PRAYER CAN BRING HOPE. No question about this. But the missing part, when we are so busy with work and parenting and TV and recreation and FaceBook, is the human resource for hope. Yes, you and I can help someone to hope. An excellent role model is Jesus, who spent much of his three-year ministry helping someone to hope.

But wait…. Jesus was the son of God — he was sent here to help someone to hope. That was his job description. But wait again…… the Bible is packed full of examples of people helping others to hope. And urgings from the writers of the books of the Bible to get to it….. apparently it’s important to God.

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’d understand
We all need somebody to lean on

FOR ME, THIS IS WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD. What grounds my faith is helping other folks to hope. Amongst a myriad of opportunities out there, I just have to open my eyes, and become aware of them. And act on them. And do something tangible to help another person. Stretch out a hand to help, as is brilliantly conveyed in Bill Wither’s song.

Click here for a video of an original Bill Withers song.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
If you would like to receive each blog I write, please say Add me to your send-out list in the Comment box at the bottom of the blog (you need to add your email but it is totally protected). If you decide later not to receive these, it’s very easy to unsubscribe any time with one click.

Your comment in the comment box below is always welcome. You can just use your first name, but you have to add your email (your email is not ever released and remains secure).

Feel free to share this article with someone who might be interested. Just click on one of the “share boxes” at the bottom of the page (you will need to input your email and/or password). Or you can share on Facebook if that’s where you receive this blog. Or just ask folks to google on IanDexterPalmer
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
JEWELRY TIP: In Santa Fe last week, I bought a pair of deep blue druzy earrings for my step-daughter Staci. Druzy jewelry has color and sparkle, as much as diamonds to me. But druzy is a mineral (rock) – usually quartz crystals that have grown over millions of years in the center of a geode. And they are inexpensive! If you are in Santa Fe or Scottsdale, look for druzy in Touchstone stores.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Gray Nomad ….. Opem sperare de aliquo.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. [Book of James, chapter 2].

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

7 Comments
Newest
Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Mary Ann Pollock
Mary Ann Pollock
5 years ago

I love the earrings Maybe JC will let me have them.

Meg
Meg
6 years ago

I hope you’re doing well. Thanks for putting that song back on my radar!
Regarding your Bible quote at the end of the blog (….faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.) I thought you might appreciate this pithy and profound African version: “When you pray, move your feet.”

Mary Ann
Mary Ann
6 years ago

A great article on hope. We all need hope at times in our struggles in life. There have been times in my life that I could not have made it without hope. Thank God he has always sent someone to me that gives me hope. Thanks for writing this blog.

Karen A Larre
Karen A Larre
6 years ago

Beautiful, Ian! I don’t think you need to limit your blog subject matter at all. I love the variety of topics in the categories you cover. They are all your passions, so don’t change a thing!

7
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x