“Care for the one person in front of you and TRUST Him with the rest”.
I read this quote in the book, “Kisses from Katie”. My ministry host this month in Lesotho suggested I read this book. God used this book to speak to my heart about the people I meet on a daily basis. We see extreme poverty and seemingly hopeless situations around every corner and sometimes it can get to me. I asked God and continue to ask Him to break my heart for what breaks His. But sometimes what breaks His heart wrecks me to the core. The dirty babies sleeping in mud huts with little to no clean water, the countless families living on far less than I would eat for a snack in America, the sick, and the desperate.
I read Katie’s story this weekend and it was so good! Katie, a 19 year old from Brentwood, Tennessee, went to Uganda and devoted her life to helping and serving the least of these. But she did it one person at a time. One precious soul at time. Read the book, you can thank me later!
Enough of the book synopsis, I will let you read that beautiful journey for yourself. After reading that book I asked God how he wanted me to respond. How can I respond to all the desperation that surrounds me? He quieted my heart and reminded me of Katie’s wise words.
“Care for the one person in front of you and trust Him with the rest.”
That is what God desires. He knows I can’t solve all the world’s problems in 11 months. I wouldn’t even try. But I can care for the one person that is in front of me and trust that God will take care of the rest.
So, this morning I prayed for God to show me the one in front of me. God didn’t exactly answer that prayer in the way I imagined. We were going to a preschool today, so I thought it will surely be some cute little kid. God surprised me with a sweet adult lady with special needs named T.
T approached us with pears as we were playing outside with the kids. I knew she was the one as soon as our eyes locked. We had an instant connection. We played a game of charades as she tried to explain to me what she wanted. Finally, after a few minutes a translator explained to me she was asking if I could give her a bra. At first I was like I’m sorry I don’t have an extra on me and we are in a remote village in the valley of Lesotho so department stores or any stores are out of the question. But as we continued to talk and hang out I heard God asking me to give her one of mine. I have four on the race and I don’t really need that many. This thought kind of made me laugh. Really Lord? That is what you are asking. But as time went on, I knew the answer to that question. I have decided to give her one on Sunday. It was an odd conversation with the Lord and as I shared it with a teammate we both laughed. But the reality is this is a basic need we all take for granted and she simply just doesn’t have the means to get one.
I continued to talk, dance, and laugh with her. She loved just being listened to and having someone give her attention. I got the chance to show her how dearly loved she is by Jesus and me. Her smile filled my heart with so much joy.
I learned the joy that comes from caring for the one person in front of me today and it was beautiful! I didn’t get to change a whole village today, but I got to be love to a very special lady. I’ll leave the rest to Him! He can handle it!
