Widows And Orphans

Well, after wishing my college fraternity a Happy Founder’s Day on Dec. 10, today, Dec. 11 has caught my attention with another of my fraternal affiliations.

In 1999, I became the third Engel male in a direct lineage to become a member of the Masonic Lodge. This was the best decision I’d ever made…that is, up untill March 3, 2007 when I asked my now wife to spend her life with me. She accepted and I digress…

One of the focuses of the Masonic Lodge is relief. Translation? Chairity. Specifically, there is an obligation about providing chairity to widows and orphans.

Tonight, I was speaking with some friends who are having trouble keeping their 92 year old grandmother in her current assisted living. She’s on a fixed income, has virtually no assetts and her husband has been deceased for a decade. Until we were discussing this woman, it’d never struck me just how alone and helpless a widow can be. Now, every individual is different, granted, but at the formation of the Masonic Lodge(some 250 years back), can you imagine how helpless the widows of yesteryear were? And that goes double for orphans!

The true measure of a man may come when he assists those with no hope of other assistance. Now, make that unisex since we’re in the 21st century. The true measure of a person may be when they help the less fortunate-help that comes with absolutely zero benefit to him/herself, sans the good feeling one (hopefully) gets from doing chairitable work.

Widows, orphans, those who are homeless, the lonely neighbor next door-who will you help relieve this season?