The Quality of Our Happiness

Written by Tom Cooper

15 years ago I invited Trisha, who had previously been a sexually exploited young woman, to speak to a group of business leaders in Vancouver. She is a remarkable person and below is part of her spiritual journey.

Trisha was an actively “prostituted woman” on the streets of Downtown Eastside of Vancouver in the fall of 2000. One Friday night in mid-October, a young female student from Trinity Western University, Amanda, was on her first outreach with other students to the people of the Downtown Eastside. She randomly met Trisha and offered her a cup of hot chocolate on a cold evening. They chatted for about 45 minutes. From then on, Amanda would track Trisha down every Friday night in seedy bars and other rough parts of town.

Though a deeply committed Christian, Amanda did not talk about her faith until Trisha asked questions 6 months later. Amanda returned to her home country several months later for summer break and left a friend of hers, Crystal, to continue supporting Trisha and her kids.

While Trisha was still a prostituted woman with no active faith in God, Amanda also raised money (personally and from friends) to enable her to get out of her exploitative, soul-destroying situation. Trisha could now pay for rent and food and bills for over 18 months.

Several months later in July of 2001, Crystal took Trisha’s kids to church and eventually Trisha would follow. It was then she reconnected with God’s love. I chatted with her recently and both her faith and her friendship with Amanda are still strong.

This story reminds me again of the consequences of our caring for others. We express our faith in acts of generosity of time, money, or deeds. Amanda and Crystal did all three of these for Trisha. I am reminded of James’s words:

“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?”

– James 2:14-16

The quality of our own happiness depends on these deeds. As Pope Francis recently said:

“Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it is…Life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.”

So what is the quality of our happiness during this pandemic? In what ways are we supporting others, not only with our prayers, but also in good works with our time, money, and deeds?

One last thing about Trisha. Her parting comment to those marketplace leaders years ago was a quote from Pastor James Forbes:

“No one gets to heaven without a reference from the poor.”

Based on your life during this current time of crisis, who will be our references?

Blessings,

Tom