In the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes,” Ruth tells Iggie she had a dream about her ex-husband taking her baby. She goes on to explain that when he used to beat her all she could do was pray. She said that when her mother was very ill, all she could do was pray. She paused, looked at Iggie and told her that if her ex-husband ever tried to take her baby, she wouldn’t just pray. She would break his neck.

Let me say clearly that I do not condone violence. I use this example to say that prayer alone isn’t always enough. No, I will say that prayer alone is rarely enough. Yes, I am a Christian and I do believe in the power of prayer. I also know that Believers are told to do more than pray. If you are not convinced of that, I would love to sit down and discuss it sometime.

Many people are hurting and confused over the recent election. Many are concerned about the welfare of our country and citizens. I have seen facebook posts and church signs that ask us to pray for our country. Yes, please, pray for our country and citizens, but don’t stop there. There is more we must do. I was reminded of this by a group of passionate, knowledgeable millennials on campus!

I want to share a story with you:

A couple of years ago, I was driving on a busy four lane highway to my church. This is a road where no one slows down for anything. People pass and bounce from lane to lane without the benefit of blinkers or common sense. There are many traffic lights and I assume there is a prize for running the yellow light, even if it means being in the intersection after the light turns red.

Suddenly the tail lights on the cars ahead of me turned red and cars in both lanes came to sudden stop. I didn't see anything. Up ahead I saw what looked like the front of a broken shopping cart coming across the cars at the beginning of the line. I watched closely and then realized it was a broken walker with a very old man pushing it across the highway. He walked so slowly that I was not sure how he got into the road at all since traffic is usually constant. He had only one good arm; the other seemed to be at an angle as if he had an injury or perhaps the remnants of a stroke. He walked with a bit of a limp, as well. The walker had front wheels, but there were no wheels on the back. He made it past the cars and reached the safety of the grass median. However, the grassy area seemed to make it harder for him to push and maneuver.

My heart ached as a watched his broken body push the feeble walker. There was no expression in his eyes or face. It appeared that his spirit was broken as badly as his body. The cars started to move and I had a battle raging in my head. I wanted more than anything to pull my car into the grass and see if I could help him. The logical side of my brain wondered how in the world I could help. What if he was violent? What if he was mentally ill and didn't understand my gesture or offer of help? What if he was ill and I was exposed? Would I offer him a ride? What would I say?

I pulled into a parking lot for a moment to think. I fought tears as I wondered if this man had family or food or even a place to stay. I certainly had nothing I could offer him. My finances were already limited without trying to help someone else. Maybe I could go back and just say a kind word to him. The logical side of my mind asked what good that would do. Sure, go and say, "Hi, I saw you struggling to get across the road. I don't have any way to help you but just wanted to say Howdy!"

In the end, I didn't turn around. I don't know why this man touched me the way he did. I did say a prayer for him. There have been times I felt so very broken and prayed for someone to reach out to me. I don't know the life journey of the man I saw. I don't know if he had friends or family or anyone to help him in his brokenness. All I did for him that day was pray. It wasn't enough.

In this election, I didn’t volunteer for the candidate for whom I voted. I didn’t write a blog post or speak to people with beliefs other than my own. What could I have done differently? What can any of us do?

Write, call and email your representative in Congress. Do the same at the state and local level. Learn about the candidates running two years from now and volunteer to help them get elected. Heck, run for office. We have just seen that you don’t need the experience to run and get elected.

Volunteer with organizations for the causes that concern you. VolunteerMatch.org is a website that matches you with volunteer opportunities. If you are a Christian, find a church and get involved. If you are a member of another faith, work within a group of that faith. There are also civic groups with which you can work. Donate to a food bank, clothes closet, animal shelter (they need love, too) or children’s program. Join a solidarity or protest walk.

Connect with people who are different than you are. If you see someone being bullied for their faith, sexual identity, politics, nationality or even their political views, stand up for them and with them.

Pray -- whatever that means in your life. Don’t stop there. Show up. Do something.

For all my Millennial friends, here is a site for young people in the US and around the world to volunteer for social change.