Closer than we think

The first time I saw him, I knew.

He stood tall at 5 feet.

Hands tucked gently in the pockets of his navy blue shorts.

His eyes full of hope.

His shoes two sizes too big for his tired feet.

His heart full of love that only God can provide.

And.....MY heart was changed forever.

We have never met.

I have not been allowed the privledge of hugging him.  Being invited into his home.  Meeting his family or watching him play soccer.

He is 14 years old & he lives in one of the poorest countries on the face of the earth.

He goes to school every day.  He helps his father with his brothers & sisters.  His chores consist of carrying water & gardening.

We do not speak the same language.

We do not feel the same hardships.

We do not understand each other’s worlds.

But none of that matters.

We were brought together in…..love.

We were brought together because there is a greater love that knows no boundaries of country or rulers or principalities. 

We were brought together through Compassion International.  www.compassioninternational.org

His country was devastated by one of the largest earthquakes in history.

Where a city used to be, lies rubble.  Death has plagued his world.  And an already impoverished country relies solely on the strength & giving of other nations.  He relies on the Only thing that is consistent & never failing.  He relies on God.

Compassion International sponsors over 1 MILLION children in 25 countries.  He is just one of them.  I can not help them all.  If I could, I would.  But it is up to us.  It is with these hands & feet that we serve a great God.  It is with our own blessings that we extend that love to others.  We are not here for this world.  We are here for something so much greater.  Something that we can not even begin to imagine.  For me, it started with a sweet little boy in Haiti. 

Chances are, I will not meet him in this life. 

But I will sit with him some day in a much more beautiful place than this world could ever offer.  I will be given the honor of finally meeting him soul to soul. 

And there will be no more death.  No more hunger.  No more suffering. 

There will only be beauty & love & peace.  Our worlds will finally come together.  There will be no boundary.  No more miles separating us.  No language barrier keeping us from understanding each other’s hearts.

And, It will be beautiful.

(Won’t you please consider sponsoring a child through Compassion International!  You WILL be changing a child’s life.  You will be giving them so much more than you can imagine.  And receiving a gift even greater!!)

Live like you were living

The love of his life died 8 years ago. 

And ever since that day, he has set his boundary within the four walls of his home. 

His love only comes when we make the phone call or we take a stand. 

               We move so that he moves. 

                            We challenge his will. 

He is alive.  But he is not living. 

He breathes.   But life doesn’t take his breath away anymore.

His heart beats.  But only in rhythm with the remote control that sits softly on his armrest.

The atrophied muscles in his legs still get them where he needs to go.  If he would only go….somewhere.

His eyes still can appreciate the same sunset that they have always had the pleasure to see. 

He is here but he isn’t present. 

He is alive but he isn’t living. 

His life is in OUR living.  It is when we visit.  It is when we take him places.  It is in watching our children laugh & play & be alive.  But when we depart, so does his joy.  When we leave to go back to our own lives, his life, in some respect, stops.  He pushes his pause button & waits for the next call.  His life will remain on hold until someone else comes to resurrect it.

When did his life become the sum of other peoples living?

When did it become the product of every one else’s lives?

When did he make the choice to stop living in the moments he is still blessed with?

Or does he feel that the choice was made for him when she died?

We are surrounded with pleasure every day if we allow our hearts to open to the magic & miracle of all of them. 

We are provided a heart to feel.  We are given hands for the holding.  We are gifted with senses so that we can use them while we are here.  We need to live in the here & now.  Not wait for the then & there.  Let our hearts be used for what they are intended for.  To love with an entirety & a wholeness.   To let joy seep into every chamber until there is nothing more it can hold.  To allow our hands to want for nothing because we have everything that we would want or need or ever ask for. 

The day will be here soon enough when we are called to someplace greater.  But until then, let THIS life be the one that is all-consuming.  Seek the miracles of the day.  Let us not be just a shell of existence.   And let not our hearts keep beating just to keep us alive.   Let the breaths that are taken be appreciated & valued because it is bringing us something so much more.  Where we can walk through THIS life with a spirit of a life that is lived.   And lived well!!

A gift of words

I have thought hard about what gift to give today.  Most often, the real gifts do not come at a monetary cost.  They are usually something from the heart.  They are handed to us to usher a change.  To allow new perspective.  To instill a value in something.  

So the gift I chose today are words.  They are not mine.  They are from Priscilla Shirer & they are amazing!  They are poignant & real & true & they could not be more beautifully written.  They are even more powerful when she speaks them.  So go unwrap the gift and.....Enjoy!!

Who do we belong to?

He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

He’s the keeper of creation and the creator of all.

He’s the architect of the universe and the manager of all time.

He always was, always is, always will be unmoved, unchanged, undefeated and never undone.

He was bruised but brought healing

He was pierced but eased pain.

He was persecuted but brought freedom.

He was dead and brings life.

He is risen to bring power

And he was raised to bring peace.

The world can’t understand Him.

Armies can’t defeat Him.

Schools can’t explain Him.

And leaders can’t ignore Him.

Herod couldn’t kill Him.

Nero couldn’t crush Him.

The New Age cannot replace Him.

And Oprah cannot explain Him away.

He is life, He is love, He is longevity and He is the Lord.

He is goodness and kindness and faithfulness

And He is God.

He is holy and righteous and powerful and pure.

His ways are right

His word eternal

His will is unchanging and His mind is on us

He is our Savior, our Guide, our peace our joy,

our comfort, our Lord and He rules our lives.

I serve Him because his bond is love

His yoke is easy

His burden is light

And His goal for us is abundant life.

I follow Him because He is the wisdom of wise,

The power of the powerful,

The ancient of days,

The ruler of rulers,

The leader of all leaders

His goal is a relationship with me.

He will never leave you,

Never forsake you,

Never mislead you,

Never forget you,

Never overlook you,

And never cancel your appointment in His appointment book.

When you fall He’ll lift you up,

When you fail He’ll forgive you,

When you’re weak, He’s strong,

When you’re lost, He’s your way,

When you’re afraid, He’s your courage,

When you stumble, He will steady you,

When you’re hurt, He’s going to heal you,

When you’re broken, He will mend you,

When you’re blind, He will lead you,

When you’re hungry, He will feed you,

When you face trials, He’s with you,

When you face persecution, He will shield you,

When I face problems, He will comfort me,

When I face loss, He will provide for me,

And when we face death, He will carry us all home to meet Him.

He is everything for everybody, everywhere, every time and in every way.

He is God and that is who you belong to!

Day 2 of giving

Today was a day for giving…..

Flowers.

I brought them to 6 beautiful women at our MOPS group just to brighten their day.  To show them that I care for them.  That I think of them apart from the Tuesday’s that we meet.   To show them that they are a special part of our group of moms. 

I love flowers.

They are usually a part of the every day décor in our home.  They bring life & beauty & calm to a sometimes not so calm atmosphere. 

Flowers are good for my heart.

It made me happy to look as these sweet bundles of beauty & know that they would bring a smile to each one of the women that received them.

And I stand in amazement at the splendor of them.  The array of colors they display.  The intricate detail from stem to petal.  It all serves a purpose.  It is all for something.  Their responsibilities are simple.  They bring hope to those who grieve.  They witness the beauty of vows being uttered into the heavens.  They welcome new life.  They are an extension of friendship and love.  Of homecoming & farewells.  They are an extension of God’s own love.  He gives us flowers.  He didn’t have to provide them for us.  But He loves us so much that he created flowers.  On top of everything else, he painted their petals & laced them with a sweet aroma.  He could have just stopped with daisies.  But instead, in His abundant love, He also provided abundant beauty…..with roses & lilacs & lilies & columbines & tulips.   

He made them for us.  And He made them for us…...to give away!  So that’s what I gave today.

The Power of 30

It isn’t a perfect number.

It’s just the number I chose.

Maybe it has something to do with the idea that it takes 30 days to change a habit.

I’ve been out of touch lately.

Not with life…..God knows I’ve been busy!

But when I finally get quiet time at night to reflect on the day, I think about what it is that I’ve given today.  Have I made a difference?  Have I given fully & freely with no need for recognition & praise?  And I realize, more often than I like to admit really, that I come up short. 

I fill my life with errands & play dates & projects & training & kids but I don’t fill my heart up with what it really needs.  And I am empty.  Empty of the true joy that I should be feeling if I am really living in the power of the Holy Spirit.

So I am launching my own Power of 30 Project.  And maybe you’ll join me.

30 days of reflection.

30 days of conscious living.

30 days of GIVING.

The heart & hands that I am lent for this time will be transformed. 

I do not have a plan.  I just have a purpose.  There was no board meeting to decide what I will do or when I will do it.  There is no To-Do-List to check off.  There is no agenda.  Unless you count giving openly & with a joyful heart.  To experience what it’s like to walk through life for a while not taking anything.  Just allowing my heart to open itself up to what others may need. 

The giving could be small & seemingly insignificant or cross the boundaries of our budget but it’s not about me & it’s not about budget.  I will listen for God & I will let Him take over.  And we’ll see what happens.

Today…..

The giving was a meal.  For someone that needed it.  And quite frankly, I didn’t have time to make it or deliver it.  But there is more to it than that.  It’s about providing for another.  I didn’t do it to get a thank you or a pat on the back.  I did it because it needed to be done.  Had I known they ate a TV dinner on Easter……I WOULD HAVE DONE IT YESTERDAY!  But I didn’t know then.  TODAY….I do.

So in an effort to change my own heart…..

My selfish SELF…..

My ‘tending to want to take more than I give’ soul….

I will let these next 30 days be a lesson.

And I hope that we will ALL learn something in the process.