WE RAISED $131.00 TO HELP SEND THE MCCOLLUMS TO MALAWI! Thank you soooooo much to all of you who gave! Now for the fun part! Here are your numbers ladies :
Laurie = 1-25
Sarah = 26-45
Becky = 46-70
Amy = 71-95
Emma =96
Holly = 97-121
Julie = 121-131
And the number chosen by random.org is: 110 which means Holly is the winner of our little prize package (how convenient for me, now I don't have to ship it :)
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And now for my thoughts on all of this! My bloggy friend Angie over at Bring the Rain blogged awhile ago about feeling "caught in the in between" in life. And I'm right there with her. I love having a nice warm home and a newer car to drive. And I was thrilled when my husband gave me a new camera for Christmas. I have come to believe that I might not be able to survive without high speed internet. And I think I'm a bargain shopper and I do love yard sales, but I like for my kids to have nice clothes and toys. One of my favorite things to do is redecorate my house. And I do spend money on flowers for my flower beds in the spring and mums in the fall. All stuff that's not necessary. I guess I've bought into the whole "American Dream" and find that these things do have value to me. Yet I am very aware of the injustice in the world. I know that children die everyday because they don't have clean water to drink. I know that genocide exists and it does bother me. I know that there are probably hungry people that live within a few miles of my home. And I believe that with knowledge comes responsibility. The James 2:26 very clearly says "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." And so, I am responsible to help meet the needs presented to me.
But where do I begin?
Should I get rid of high speed internet?
Do I help the McCollums go to Malawi?
What about this little guy who needs a heart transplant and his insurance won't pay for it?
Or should I help give clean water to people in desperate need of it?
Or help build Cora's playground and bring comfort to her parents in their grief?
Or help this family bring home their sweet baby from South Korea?
Or would the best use of my resources be to sponsor a child?
Or should I just give money to my local church?
There are so many needs! Where do I even begin? Do you struggle with this? I seriously feel so selfish sometimes when I walk out of Target. And I certainly could have used the money I spent on Girl Scout cookies to help give someone clean water, but there really isn't anything wrong with Girl Scout cookies. In my opinion it would be legalistic to think so. And so I just hope that God honors the fact that I struggle with this. That he is pleased by the fact that Africa with all it's injustice and heartache is under my skin. And I pray that I will always be brought to tears when I read the blogs of other people's struggles. I pray that my heart will always be pulled into this uncomfortable place. I never want to get so comfortable that I ignore or maybe just don't SEE the needs around me.
Matthew 25:40
'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
3 comments:
Judy...what an AMAZING post!!!! First, let me say how very, VERY thankful I am to you for speaking on our behalf for our needs to get to Africa! We are so grateful to all those who gave towards this amount! I'm humbled...
Secondly, I totally GET what you are saying about being in the middle. Yes, I am moving to Malawi but still there is so much more that I could be doing in helping with the needs around me. We all buy into the American dream that is around us. These things aren't bad at all (to an extent) but I want to affirm you in your uncomfortable-ness. The fact that you are feeling this way towards the injustices around is HUGE!! These things make God sad--these are the same things that should also make us sad. There are so many who turn their heads to what is happening in this world...to the people that God created in His image. James 1:26-27. Love you...and your passion for people!!
Whooo Hooo! I won! I never win anything...how cool is that??? Except, after I read your post, I felt very guilty for being so excited about winning a prize when there are so many people who are suffering. I have really been struggling with the issues that you mentioned. I read Angie's post this morning, and I thought about my blessed life and how we have so much while others are sufferring so deeply. I want to do something bigger, something meaningful, but mostly I just flounder because I can't figure out what
that "something" is. I guess a bunch of little things is good, like helping your friends go to Malawi or donating to Cora's playgound. It just feels like I'm missing something - like I have more to give (not money per se, just time and energy and heart) and I just haven't figured out what I need to give or who needs it the most. I will keep praying for those of us in the middle to figure out our role in God's big plan and to keep feeling "uncomfortable" until we do!
So well said Judy. I have been praying hat everyday God would just use what ever I have to be glorified for him... my blog, my camera, my cell phone, all this technology, my talents, my time, my money , my kids... the list is endless. We as americans have so much that we can give but we have to first understand our purpose and that is something he has been seriously dealing with me over the last few years and even stronger over the last months of having mono. It can be hard to see your purpose or even worth when you are in bed all the time but that is when you are finding it isn the wrong things and are misguided, so I have learned! Oh the Lord is good and even through blogging has taught me so much!
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