“There but for the Grace of God, go I”

September 21, 2014

Please go with me as I wander back in my mind’s eye and share some of the scenes that give me cause to ponder.

Tasha and PJ were both in serious trouble with drugs. They were young, under thirty and PJ had been in prison for distribution. He got out and, in order to make a clean break of his previous life he moved to Utah, where a family member lived. He was bright and industrious and soon was able to rent a home from me. It wasn’t long however, before Tasha who was very pregnant began using again and the courts took their new baby. Several of us worked diligently with them as they went to court to try and prove their worth and return their child. After many months the baby was safely returned to their care and they moved back to the place from which they had escaped.

A recent football hero from BYU had risen to the top getting into the NFL as a quarterback then falling on extremely hard times, using drugs, losing his job, his health, and losing all his earthy accomplishments. Several other football “greats” have been accused, convicted in the press, and dismissed as viable members of society. Two questions loom in my mind. What causes people to do dumb things like taking drugs and hurting other people? What can/should we do to help individuals who find themselves in peril? Think about the last time we did something crazy, dumb, and just plain stupid. We go down the freeway at eighty, flip into the other lane and get too close to the car next to us; then, instead of smiling and waving apologetically, we hit the steering wheel, damn the other driver, give them a one-finger salute, honk our horn, and drive on (assuming we haven’t caused a wreck).

Now this is the one that is most common and we see it every day.  Someone is diagnosed with depression, anxiety, substance abuse, PTS, or some other debilitating circumstance. This isn’t someone we know personally so we just say too bad, so sad; let someone else take care of the problem. But the problem doesn’t go away because it has no place to go. Watch as individuals are ignored, even shunned. Watch as individuals move from safe haven to sidewalks, to more drugs, to more theft, to the prisons again. Eighty percent recidivism in prisons like Purgatory in Washington, Utah gives us a glimpse of what not to do.

An acronym that spells out the hypocrisy of society – NIMBY – tells the whole story. Each of us has personally experienced, NOT IN MY BACK YARD. Jean and I spent all our lives and personal financial resources in attempting to assist those in need. We lost everything because we couldn’t convince the City of Orem people needed a place to stay. Right now, a disabled friend has been convicted with the insidious crime of not maintaining his front yard. The neighborhood preservation police and his neighbors have found him unworthy to be in their world; the judge suspended his six month jail term, and fined him $600. Now, let’s stop and think for a minute. Last year Home Depot and I gave him plants, trees, sandstone, and other products. We worked diligently to make his front yard look really good. He had a plan. He worked the plan; however, that was not good enough. I ask again. What should/can we do?

My answer is very simple. Turn to God. Ask in all fervor to be guided by the Holy Ghost as we watch our neighbors, our friends, and our family, go through difficult times, what we might do to bless their lives. The Holy Ghost will provide us answers through promptings as we listen and watch for opportunities to reach out to those in need. We, in fact, become temporal ministering angels.

God bless us all as we work through our temporal probation. May we find joy and peace in serving others.

Duane Jacobs, grandfather, father, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend