A while back  I wrote about the organization To Write Love On Her Arms.  Now, I would like to focus on the story behind the organization.  The story behind the movement.

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It all started with a girl, Renee, who was 19 at the time and in a very dark place in her life.  Jamie Tworkowski  asked her what she’d say if he were to tell her story.  She told him to tell everyone who were to hear the story to look up and remember the stars. 

At first the idea of TWLOHA was not known by many.  They started out on myspace and eventually more and more people heard the story and were inspired, or felt they could relate.  Those teens who caught on to the idea started sharing how they could relate to Renee, and a movement began. 

Jamie’s story speaks of how Renee’s past was painful, and how she got to the point of  needing Rehab, but when she went to enter they told her she was too great of risk because they had no means of detox.  So Jamie and a few friends took her in for five days.  They showed her love, memories to remember, and fun.  They went to a show of her favorite band; Band Marino, a basketball game, and the taste of chaos tour. 

Music can definitely be healing.  If you’ve ever been to a show like the taste of chaos tour,then you know  it is an outside show.  With the lights and the atmosphere, it feels like healing and hope.

Is the feeling of helping someone how God feels when we surrender our broken hearts, and trade death for life?  Some would like to believe so, because the feeling is so grand.  It is just a shame that there are many out there who don’t like the idea of helping others.  On the other hand, healing is definitely possible.  Even if someone does not have the means to go to rehab.  The people who want to help do what they can, and find any means they can to provide help. 

Don Miller says, “We are called to hold our hands against the wounds of a broken world, to stop the bleeding.”   That is where To Write Love On Her Arms get their “Stop the Bleeding” slogan.  We may not be able to help those that were hurting and passed on, because we cannot change the past, but we can help those who are hurting now. 
TWLOHA raises money to help those who are hurting, and if you go to the site, there are plenty of ways that you can find to help if you would like.

I would like to finish off with sharing a few more of my favorite quotes from the story, and then share a video where Jaime tells the story.  If you would like to read it, it can also be found on www.twloha.com.

          “Tell them to look up, tell them to remember the stars.” – Renee Yohe

          “Stories wait for endings, but songs are brave things bold enough to sing when all they know is       darkness.” – Jamie Tworkowski

          “It is unspoken, and there are only a few of us, but we will be her church, the body of Christ coming alive to meet her needs, to write love on her arms.” – Jamie Tworkowski

          “I’ve never walked this road, but decide if we are going to run a five day rehab it is going to be the coolest in the country. It’s going to be rock and roll.”
-Jamie Tworkowski

          ”It is a bright moment there in the music as rain and light collide above the stage.  It feels like healing and it is certainly hope.”
-Jamie Tworkowski

       ”It hits me to wonder if this great feeling is what Christ knows when we surrender our broken hearts, when we trade death for life.”
-Jamie Tworkowski

       “The stars are always there but we miss them in the dirt and clouds, we miss them in the storms. Tell them to remember hope, we have hope.”
-Renee Yohe

       “Love is that simple answer to so many of our hardest questions.” – Jamie Tworkowski

        ”Perhaps God would ask us to be that rescue. To be his body.  To move for things that matter.  He is not invisible when we come alive.” – Jamie Tworkowski

        “God works in love, speaks in love, and is revealed in our love.” -Jamie Tworkowski

        “We were made to be lovers bold in broken places, pouring ourselves out again and again until we are called home.” -Jamie Tworkowski

        “God makes things new, he meant hope and healing in the stars.” – Jamie Tworkowski

Do you have any quotes that you would like to share about hope, healing, pain, or inspiration?  Feel free to share them in your comment

Finally, I would like to share the video version of the story if you all would like to hear it spoken word for word.  Thanks to boldinbrokenplaces2 for the video!