How to Save a Life

Ever heard that song? It's by a band called The Fray. Here's a snippet of it, just the chorus:

Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

That being said, let me tell you a little story...
I have a friend, someone I've known since high school, who I'll call "George". It started as an internet friendship and grew on from there. We've never met face to face, so we'll call it a pen-pal relationship.
George has never been the most...stable...person I know, and things just tend to fall apart for him. I believe he tries, but I think he just doesn't get how to make life work a lot of the time.
In any event, George recently moved to Michigan, after leaving Washington state, to try to start his life over. He had no job, no place to stay, very little money and not much in the way of clothes or possessions. He moved in with a friend who had agreed to let him stay until he could get on his feet. Things were going well for him, I'd even sent him a link to a website where he might be able to find a job (www.snagajob.com), because that's how I got the job I have with JCPenney and how BJ got his job with Dish Network. I'd also sent him various links from Craigslist for cheap rooms for rent in his area. All of this, I did earlier today. Over the course of the day, things fell apart on him, yet again. The exhusband of the friend he was staying with made it very clear that he did not want George in the house with the woman, and threatened his life if he didn't leave. George is not exactly the type to stand up for himself physically, so he feared for his safety and left. He called me to tell me what had happened, and I wanted to cry. I finally thought he had someplace good to stay for a little while to rebuild after a series of failed relationships and lost opportunities. You all know me...I'm a chicken heart. I can't let someone I know suffer. When I was at my worst, I had a friend who picked me up and helped me back to life. I had lost my car, lost my job, lost my apartment, and felt like I had nothing left. When my friend stepped in and gave me a home, she saved my dignity and my sense of self-worth, just knowing that she cared enough to reach out to me when I needed someone. I wanted to give George that same feeling.
So, I suggested that he call the men's rescue mission in the city where he lives, and he said he would try. When I got off the phone with him, he was crying, and I started to wonder if he really would call them. So I took the initiative...I called them for him. I told them that I was calling from Tennessee, and that I had a friend in Michigan who needed help. I gave them his name and the address where he was (he called me from a payphone at a convenience store), explained that he had no money, food, or place to stay, and asked if there was anything they could do for him. The man I spoke with said they would never turn someone away who needed help, and they would do their best to help him if he could get there, or send someone to get him if need be. While I was on the phone with him, he had to put me on hold to take another call. When he came back on the line with me, he said "Hey, you said your friend's name is George? I have him on the other line, he said a little angel told him to call us. I'm assuming that little angel is you?" I was so thrilled I could have cried! I confirmed that, yes, George was the friend I'd called about, and asked him how he sounded. The man said he didn't sound so good, he sounded pretty shaken. I asked him to please talk to him and help him, anything at all that they could do for him would be a blessing. Before he got off the phone with me, he said "He's right, you are a little angel. Not many people would try so hard for someone so far away. Thank you, for helping us help your friend. I'll let him know that he has a real friend in you."
So, did I save a life? Maybe, maybe not. But the important thing is that I helped someone who thought he had nowhere left to turn, and no one left to care about him. No one should ever be without a home...not just in the sense of homeless, but without a real home, someplace or circumstance where they feel comfortable, and where they feel loved. That's what I found here in Tennessee, and it hurts that not everyone can feel this way. If I can help, I will, within my means. I can't change George's life...but I can let him know that I care, no matter the distance.
In closing, here's something that I made up in Photoshop (you all know how I love to play around with pictures and words). I think this sums it up pretty well...

Maybe I didn't save George's life immediately, but I gave him a headstart at saving his own!