My Inner Flower Child

My inner flower child:
The kids who run around the busy streets of Saigon with baskets of cigarettes they want tourists to buy.
The babies with HIV who are secluded from the rest of society.
The orphans whose parents are divorced so they don't want them in their home as a reminder of their ex.

My Jane Fonda passion:
The elderly who are forgotten, left to sleep on a bed of wooden slats.
The frail who are wasting away into nothing unable to move or feed themselves.
The mentally ill who are caged, naked, and alone.

 
My heart:
The smiles on their faces when we take the time to visit.
The laughter in their gut when we play in the park.
The simplicity of giving my all.

This month, I learned that a lot of people seek Jesus by having "Jesus time"- reading their Bible, praying about what comes next, and just sitting and waiting for God to show up.  I know how to find Him, though.  How to hear His voice and see His face.  Say yes to the friend who wants to take you out to coffee.  Fill in for a sick teammate and go to the orphanage.  Jesus is all around us- living and breathing in the people around you, in the opportunities He hand delivers to you.  All you have to do is recognize them- look them in the eyes, smile at them, and participate.

                                                                     

"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'  "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

Matthew 25:41-45