Lean on Us (08-29-11)

I awoke this morning to music. I used to awaken to the news.  But recently it has been all earthquakes and lightning, and hurricanes a’blowin’. So I switched to music radio.

Sometimes in our lives
We all have pain
We all have sorrow.

That was the first thing I heard this morning and it could not have been more perfect.  Last week, our grade school experienced a bit of tragedy.  A car accident. A student hospitalized with serious injuries. A family in crisis.
 
If there is a load you need to bear
That you can't carry
I'm right up the road
I'll share your load.

And the response of the good people of our school and in our town was remarkable.  Almost immediately after the accident, the student and parents had been wisked away to a hospital in a city a few hours away. When the news spread, there were so many offers to drive there to take the family a vehicle and needed supplies that we literally had to pick and chose. Somewhere an envelope appeared and throughout the day it filled with cash.  Offers of assistance came from so many, that it took coordination to get it all sorted out.
 
You just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on.

I was blown away, though in hindsight, this kind of response has always been the norm in my small town experience.  People genuinely care and are so willing to drop everything to help.  This isn’t the first time that our community has been brought together through hardship, and I know it won’t be the last.  We shine the brightest in the hardest times. As the song says:
 
Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on.

I know firsthand the power of small town generosity and it is always humbling to see it in action. Lean on us, the people of this town say again and again.  We are here to help.
 
I think I will keep my clock radio alarm set to music.  It was a nice way to start the day and serves to remind me of the good news happening every day in our little town.