Today, I can't get my mind off of how great my life is. No, I'm not one of those people who posts only the positively embellished details of their life and types in ALL CAPS and ends every sentence with an overwhelmingly happy exclamation point!!! Gag. I don't think of my self as an in-your-face kind of girl....I'm more of an introspective thinker when it comes to summing up my life and the lessons contained therein. But today, I'm struck at how good I have it. And I'm grateful, very grateful, as I sit here and type. My life hasn't always been wonderful. I have definitely experienced seasons of struggle, sadness, loss, confusion and fear of the unknown. I've experienced some rather unruly personalities and have had to learn how to love them anyway. Just like you, I have had to walk my children through painful difficulties associated with growing up. But today, my life is wonderful. I look around me and I like what I see. I have privileges that many people in this world can only dream of. A couple of weeks ago, my youngest son brought home a DVD of a group of young people who have made it their life's mission to bring awareness to the forgotten children of Uganda. I wept as I watched how these children and their families lived. They slept away from their parents on hard, concrete floors that were wet and unsanitary. They lived in fear of being kidnapped and forced into serving in a tyrannical leader's army where, at a very young age, they are trained to kill. My children sleep under the same roof as I do, on mattresses with clean 300-count thread sheets, their stomachs satisfied from eating a home-cooked meal. The young men who started this movement were passionate young men who have done so much good through hard work that started with a prompting, "What if...?" I may not be able to change the plight of the Ugandan children, as these zealous young men have, but I can sure change my own children's lives. I have the ability to mentally, emotionally, and spiritually "show up" each day in order to teach them and listen to them and point them to Scripture in order to navigate their way in life. I can also change my city. I am crazily blessed to be part of a church that values the forgotten right here in our city of Memphis. We have partnered with several schools and show up on Fridays to feed approximately 1,000 school children per week. I have the ability to donate money and/or food, pack food bags, and personally deliver these bags to these little ones, all the while imparting the love of Christ with each smile and high-five I give. What an honor. What are you doing with the "What if's?" in your life? God has entrusted me and you with many of them--I wonder how many get swept away by the cares of our lives and He has to shuffle one or two or twenty to another willing person who has the ears to hear and the courage to actually act on them? What if, instead of feeding 1,000 children in Memphis, we were able to feed 5,000? What if the attitude and morale of these schools were positively affected and changed because we got involved and let God go do His thing through us? What if the unity of the administration and teachers was stronger because we prayed every day for them? What if moms and dads were set free from poverty and drug and alcohol addiction and families were restored because of our prayers and commitment to show up and carry Christ to their neighborhoods? I believe God is desperate to do all of these things for the people He loves. I just have to be faithful to show up and be His hands and feet to a desperate city, putting Christ's finished work on the cross before me. Wanna come along?
"Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to Him by name! Tell everyone you meet what He has done! Sing Him songs, belt out hymns, translate His wonders into music! Honor His holy name with Hallelujahs you who seek God. Live a happy life! Keep your eyes open for God, watch for His works; be alert for signs of His presence. Remember the world of wonders He has made, His miracles, and the verdicts He's rendered. O seed of Abraham, His servant, O child of Jacob, His chosen. He's God, our God, in charge of the whole earth. And He remembers, remembers His Covenant--for a thousand generations He's been as good as His word!"
--Psalm 105:1-8 (The Message)
