Never get tired of doing little things for others, sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts.
Our host parents are literally some of the sweetest and most giving people. Every day I am even more amazed by them, they give and ask nothing in return and just really do embody what true generosity and serving the Lord is. I strive a lot to be that person, to give when I have nothing to give, to share when I have food, and to just really put others before myself. It’s crushing to know that in our culture and society how quickly we can get attached to the things around us. It isn’t a joke when we say that we as a culture rely on technology more than community. We do, and it’s incredibly sad, we are more obsessed with what we can get out of each other and what the latest iPhone is, than we are on how we can serve and help those around us. I can’t count on my fingers and toes how many times I have wanted something I didn’t need. . . .
Why?
Why do I have to have a physical object or possession to “fill” me, why isn’t me pressing into others and wanting to get to know them good enough in my mind. We have in some sense done the same thing to God, from a young age we are instilled with a sense of want. I focus on what I don’t have and what I can get to make me happier and that if I only have this object then I will be at peace. Yet I forget that with God I already have everything, I don’t need a new cell phone or newest Canon because the reality is that the Lord provides and is greater than anything I could imagine.
This year I am giving every possession I own to the Lord, I am trusting that he knows better and that I want to sacrifice my own comfort and welfare for those around me and around the world. I believe that the Lord wants me and everyone else for that matter to love others with no limits, that we are willing to go to extremes to help them. I want to be known for giving, if that is of my time, money, or talents then I want to give it all. I want to give to others so that I know that they are loved not just by me but by a power greater, who truly wants what is best for them and wants them to not just survive this world but to thrive! It’s funny too because we live our lives as if God was created for us. As if He is here to answer our prayers or to do our bidding and or to bless us. No. He created us, He made us, and you have a choice every day to either sit where you are and stay the same expecting life to just go your way. Or you can choice to adjust how you live daily to put yourself second and to serve others and show them God’s love.
I remember being a child, I would do something like not do the dishes and then I would get asked why I thought it was okay to never do the dishes or pick up that sock I saw on the floor. If I didn’t do it then someone was going to have to come up behind me and do it, so why wouldn’t I just take the time and do it instead letting someone else do it. I don’t remember at was age that clicked but I still think of that to this day. Even if I don’t want to do something or pick something up, it doesn’t even have to be my mess; but if I don’t just take the minute to do it then someone else is going to have to do it. I want to live a life in second place, I always want to put those around me before myself and to remember the Lord is first in everything I do. When I have a heart that puts others first and seeks the Lord, then I don’t have anything to worry or be anxious about.
Bev, our host mom asked me if I was sick of painting yet, my answer was simple… No. I don’t think that I could get sick of the act of painting, because in my mind I am trying to focus on serving and helping and to be sick of painting it would symbolizes that I would be sick and done with helping others.
