Matthew 6:34 – “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
Do you think you can make a difference in the world? Have you ever sat and actually thought about the answer to that question? Growing up, I have always been told that I have the power to change the world, but I never truly believed that. This journey, though only 3 weeks in has been eye opening and life altering.
My eyes have been opened to what it means to truly have nothing. Hondurans live in shacks, most of their houses are made of clay or cement. These houses generally have one or two rooms in total, and there is usually 3-4 beds crammed into one room. The other room is generally a kitchen or sitting area, and the floor is generally dirt. These people bathe in cold water (trust me it’s freezing), and wash their clothes by hand. However, they are not sad, discontent or depressed. The people I have met here have been joyful, genuine, and generous. Generosity was the biggest surprise to me, though they have little to offer they choose to give it up anyways.
These realizations caused me to have a reality check in my own heart. I felt so selfish for making a big deal about the pettiest things. As Americans we are so saturated in ourselves that we forget to slow down and see people through the eyes of Christ. People here call out to us from their homes to have us come and pray for their sick family members. How often do we actually pray for people? So often we say oh yeah I’ll be praying for you, but do you actually? I have been so guilty of this as well. Our ministry host challenged us this month to never say that again, but instead stop wherever you are and pray with that person.
The amount of need around the world is so overwhelming to me, and as someone who is a “fixer” my tendency is to try and help everyone. I’ve had to come to the realization that I cannot help everyone, and that’s okay. I realized that in America we “know” that there are slaves, people starving, homeless people, abuse, and many other horrible things happening. What I’ve realized is that people are numb to all of these issues because being numb is easier. Numbness allows me to be comfortable where I am instead of stepping out in faith to make a difference. Numb is how I have chosen to live the last 23 years of my life, but guess what? Not anymore, today I choose to make a difference. Today I choose to listen to the Holy Spirit and be obedient to His calling for my life. Today I choose to pray with people and believe in faith that God will move.
As I made this decision, I could feel the enemy start to whisper lies to me, such as: “You can’t save everyone so why try? Do you really want to step out of your comfort zone, because you were doing just fine before this trip. Do you really think that you can make a difference, you don’t even have anything to offer these people! Being numb is easier and more fun, this isn’t really your problem anyways.”
I recently heard a story that rocked my world about this idea of making a difference. A little boy was standing on a beach, and the shore was covered with thousands and thousands of starfish. One by one the little boy was picking up the starfish and throwing them back into the ocean. An older man was walking down the beach and approached the little boy. The man asked the boy why he was wasting his time throwing starfish back into the ocean, you can’t possibly save them all, the man said. Without hesitating, the little boy said you’re right, then he bent down to pick up another starfish and as he tossed it back into the ocean he looked at the man and said, “But I saved that one.” That is exactly the mentality that the Lord wants us to have about helping people in need. You may not change the world, but you can change one person’s entire world. If I can make a difference in just one person’s life then that is more than enough for me. I will never stop trying, praying, or helping because it’s always worth it. So yeah it’s easier to be numb, but would you rather have comfortable or extraordinary? The choice is yours.
