Over time I find myself more and more overwhelmed with thoughts, with sensitivities, with deep thoughts of wanting to be more and to do more. I suppose most would just say that is being a woman, however I don't think that is the case. I think it is being a CHRISTIAN. As you get deeper in your walk with God you are more sensitive to most everything. Your heart hurts for the things that hurts God's heart. I see so much corruption, so much bad in the world and I get overwhelmed with the need to help. Yet, I get stuck, I don't even know where to begin. I want to help the orphans, and the human trafficking, the widows, the single parents, the 27 million slaves, the abused children all over the world, the starving families, the homeless, the lost, the confused, and so many more. Every news story, documentary, every single horrible thing I see I have a deep need to help. But I have a family, a bubble, a comfort zone. My children are still very small so I realize that I can't go throw myself into the grit of it all right now, but there are still ways to help. A message I have been receiving over and over again lately is that God did not send us into this world to be safe and comfortable. He sent us so that we can get into the deep uncomfortable places, so that we can help those in need, to reform them, to comfort them, to love them and to lead them to the cross which is greater than any sin out there.
Here is my list of how to help... one step at a time..when you can't go on mission trips, when you can't get your feet as dirty as you would like, when you can't risk your life in the name of Jesus at this time (This may freak some of you out, but I would be beyond honored to die in the name of Jesus and if I could get out there in the front lines I absolutely would.).
1. One person at a time. You don't need to save the entire world (As much as I want to I have to remind myself of this daily). It can start with ONE person. You can smile at a stranger, give that homeless man your last dollar, who cares what he does with it, give it with love and God will see your heart and your good intentions. Talk with a friend who is going through a hard time, Share the gospel with someone and then continue on their new path and adventure with them, don't just bring them to Jesus and then walk away. Every single day we encounter people who are so lost, who are wanting just 1 person to notice them, to care about them. You can be that person for them. Open your eyes, see the hurt in a friend or stranger and then figure out how to help them. We become so complacent in our everyday lives, we are like zombies, walking through life not seeing or caring about anyone but ourselves and our inner circle. Get over yourself, put your life in God's hands and let Him lead you. YOU will find so much more peace and wholeness in handing yourself over to God. I promise this!
2. Your children. I am a firm believer in raising children in church, our society is just getting worse and worse, the least we can do is raise our children with good morals and solid beliefs. Your children can grow up to be amazing disciples, they can be the world changers, the doers of the world if we just let them and train them up right. I pray that my children grow up to have a desire to change lives and that they meet amazing God loving men and (a) woman. Pray for your children every day and for their future friends and spouses. Be the person that you want your daughters to be and that you want your sons to marry. Show your children what it means to love each other and to love your neighbors and to love your God with all of your heart. In doing all of this you have multiplied yourself by 3(or however many kids you have) and in turn those 3 can go out and change thousands of other lives.
3. Your community. Look in your community and see what is lacking, what is struggling, what is the need? I live in a small town so sometimes I feel limited, and then I find out about some of the needs and I am surprised. We shouldn't be surprised that there are needs in our community no matter how small it is. You can likely go to any church in your city and find out about all of the ministries that have already been started. Start there, go volunteer where your heart feels led.
4. Global level. If you want to help on a bigger scale there are lots of campaigns, ministries, coalitions, councils, outreach programs and so on that you can look into online. You don't always JUST have to give money, there are several other ways to get involved. The one I am most passionate right now is the A21 Campaign. This campaign was started by Christine Caine (who I HIGHLY recommend youtubing and watching her videos) it is to abolish and bring awareness of human trafficking all across the world. This website http://www.a21.org/index.php tells you everything that you need to know and what I really love is that they give you 21 ways to help! If this is not your passion, that's ok I still encourage you to check out the website so that you can find other websites like it. When you decide where you want to help globally I also encourage you to do your research. For me, it has been a lot of researching human trafficking lately, filling myself with knowledge, statistics, and as painful as it is to read or watch the stories of some of these slaves.
Whatever you decide to do, do it with passion, do it with God's help, do it because it breaks your heart and you want to see a change. I know it is easy to get overwhelmed feeling like we are only 1 person, how can I possibly help? But if you don't do anything at all... you aren't helping anyway. And if you don't hand over what little you have to God, in order to help then you will never know how He could have used you. One person can do more then you would think. Please just do SOMETHING!
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